


Punching is a (w)hole new Experience

by SabriSonne



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016) Whump, Assassin - Freeform, Chloroform, Electrocution, Episode Tag, Episode tag 1x20, Episode: s01e20 Hole Puncher, Gags, Gen, Hole Puncher, Hurt Angus Macgyver (Macgyver 2016), Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapped Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Mac posing as Murdoc, Missions Gone Wrong, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Protective Jack Dalton (MacGyver 2016), Restraints, Torture, Waterboarding, emotional stress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:13:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 23,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23185324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SabriSonne/pseuds/SabriSonne
Summary: AU-tag for 1x20 - "Hole Puncher"They have kept the cellphone from last time - the time Mac went undercover as Murdoc. One year the phone rested in the locker in Bozer's lab, everyone forgot it, no one remembered it - till it suddenly rings. (Warning! Violence and graphic discription of torture in later chapters!)
Comments: 60
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello^^  
> I'm back with a new mission for our favorite team!
> 
> This time I tried a little original storyline, but still with a strong tag-vibe. I loved the idea to have Mac going undercover as a killer, so I gave him another oppurtunity to show his skills. Have fun (and feel free to comment!)
> 
> And a little sidekick: this story almost never happened, as today my word-doc killed itself! After 20min I got it back, but it was a close call - I was almost done with it!! Let's all thank the Fanfic-God and enjoy the story^^

_A ringing tone._

They were only chatting. Quite freely. Nothing serious, just about the day. But then there was this ringing tone coming from a locker in the lab.

Bozer looked at Mac, surprise in his eyes. Obviously he didn’t know what this was all about – as did Mac.

“It seems to me there is an incoming phone call”, Sparky said.

This was the signal they both needed to react again. Mac and Bozer stood up from their chairs and walked over to the locker. The tone sounded dull behind the metallic doors. A little turn of the key and the doors swung open. Inside they found a black smartphone, ringing.

_Unknown Caller._

Mac locked eyes with Bozer – what to do?

Mac reached for the phone, it was still ringing. It laid heavy in his hand – way to heavy for such a small item. And there was a reason for it.

“Wow, what the hell, man?!”, Bozer commented, “You gonna answer that?!”

Mac swallowed hard. What should he do?

Sweat was forming on his forehead as he swiped the green bottom to the side to accept the call. Next to him Bozer sucked in air in a hard way, even producing a sound. Mac swallowed hard. Maybe too hard, the sound of his larynx fighting away the salvia was so prominent that the unknown caller must have heard it.

A last deep breath, then his lips formed a word – quite simple, but it was serving its purpose. Mac was surprised he found the strong voice to give it a grim undertone.

“ – hello?”

He was met with silence. Then a male voice began to talk.

  


  
“I have a job for you.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So you got a call on THAT phone?!” Riley was shocked.

“I thought we were done with THAT phone!” Jack ran his hand to his stubbly hair. “And how was it even possible to call? Wasn’t the phone switched off?!”

“Man, I don’t know what’s going on here”, Bozer said overwhelmed, “It was off, but it rang on the same time.”

Mac’s hand flew up to interrupt his friend. “There should be an easy explanation”, he said, “Someone must have switched it on and –“

“Don’t fall into conclusions, blondie”, Mac was interrupted on his side by Matty. “How or when this phone got switched on is our smallest problem right now.”

She was met with silence. A silence because everyone knew what she was referring to. It was written in the air around them. But who was the one who would actually form an audible sentence out of these words?

It was Riley.

“Should we react to it? Should Mac play Murdoc once again?”

There it was. The sentence that was so easy to say but still so heavy in the air. So heavy in its meaning. The air was vibrating, no one commented, not even Jack was making a stupid joke. Instead Mac was surprised to see the serious look on his senior’s face. His inner uneasiness grew a lot. At this point for the first time he felt a lot of eyes resting on him. Jack’s serious ones, Riley’s uneasy ones, Bozer’s overwhelmed ones, Matty’s unfocused ones as she seemed to discuss all possible outcomes of this situation in her head. His inner uneasiness grew a lot more. Mac got the feeling of loosing all the color in his face.

Matty seemed to recognize Mac’s uneasiness. Her eyes grew more concerned.

“Before we think about that, what information do we have?”

Mac swallowed. Was there a lump forming in his throat?

“Not much”, he said, trying to sound as confident and normal as always, but he had the feeling his voice gave him away. He coughed. “Just a meeting point and a time slot.”

“No information about the job itself? Or about the client?”

“No”, was Mac’s short answer. With a quick move he wetted his dry lips with his tongue. Hopefully no one saw it. Behind his back he cramped his hands. Thank God no one was standing behind him to see. Mac didn’t like the way this conversation was going.

Matty breathed out hard. Everyone was looking at her to make decision. A hard one to make.

“Shall we not go there to find this guy?”, Bozer asked, “Maybe it’s just a cute little couple like last time.”

“Or maybe a terrorist organization!”, Jack growled with a fierce look, “Mac, what was the voice like?”

“Eh –“, Mac struggled, massaging his hands harder and harder behind his back. What was wrong with him? “Quite cold and cunning. Very clear and focused.”

“See?”, Jack shouted, “More like terrorists!”

“So blow them up, shall we?”, Bozer asked again.

“And getting Mac in danger?!”, Jack reacted way to hard, “Are you nuts? Did you forget last time?!”

_Last time._

The signal for Mac to step out from the conversation. Last time. Last time he played a serial killer. Last time he was hunting someone down he didn’t even know. Last time he reacted like the cold blooded assassin on the phone. Last time he was just thinking of it any other normal job.

_Last time he played Murdoc._

**_“That’s my boy scout.”_ **

Mac felt his heart rate speeding up, sweat was forming on his hands as he massaged them even harder than before. Murdoc. The way this bloody psychopath was so full of joy when Mac grabbed his throat. The way this bloody psychopath was so full of joy when he saw the hunger for blood in Mac’s eyes. The way this bloody psychopath was so full of joy when he got Mac to show his inner darkness. The way this bloody psychopath was so full of joy when Mac let himself be consumed by it.

**_“You know, MacGyver, people just believe what they want to believe. Like right now, for instance. You want to believe that this is over.”_ **

Disgusting!

“Mac?”

Mac’s eyes flew open. He hadn’t even realized he closed them. He was met with concerned looks.

“Are you okay, man?”, Jack asked. “You are pale as hell.”

“What?” Mac hand came to his face swiping the sweat away. “Eh – yeah – yeah, everything’s fine. Just – eh” He licked his lips a few times “got caught up in a memory.” He moved his hand up through his hair. “Sorry”, he said as he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

“Maybe we should just ignore it”, Riley commented worried.

“No, really, I’m fine”, Mac said determined and changed the position of his body in a confident one as he positioned his feet in a solid stance and pushed up his back. “We should at least go and take a look, it’s worth a try.”

***************************************************************************

The black turtleneck pullover was scratching on his neck. Mac felt like being choked by the soft material, his breathing got more and more difficult. With a finger he tried to get a little space between the fabric and his skin. Again his tongue wetted his lips.

Then his eyes fell on himself in the mirror.

He looked like one. Like an assassin.

The plain black turtleneck pullover, black jeans and heavy black boots. The also black leather jacket was still on its hanger in the locker. In the shelf the smartphone was lying.

**_“See that's what we are, MacGyver. We're two sides of the world's immune system. We target people that make society sick, and we stop them.”_ **

**_“I stop them by putting them in a cage. You stop them by putting them in the ground.”_ **

**_“Whose method's more efficient? Sure, you can say that killing is wrong and life is precious and death is this tragedy. But you feel that way because you're not looking at it from the right perspective._ _It's a lot to take in, I know, but believe me, MacGyver, you and I basically have the same job._ _See, the difference is that when you cage one of your cancer cells, they call you a hero._ _When I kill one, they call me a psychopath.”_ **

Mac swallowed hard as he recalled the conversation. It felt like it had been yesterday, but it was almost a year ago. But still he could see Murdoc’s face in front of him, still smell him. Hear him.

**_“You are a killer, just like me. And the sooner you accept that my way is the right way, it is the only way the sooner you're gonna be ready.”_ **

Was he really a killer? Was he really a psychopath?!


	3. Chapter 3

He was sweating – a lot.

He and Jack had arrived at the meeting point he was told about on the phone. To keep his cover Mac had gotten off a few blocks away. They couldn’t be sure he wasn’t observed already by whatsoever organisation or the guy himself who had called.

Mac was now wearing a black cap. As nervous as he was right now he somehow felt relieved they decided to go without the leather jacket. He had a big weight to carry right now and the heavy, cold leather would have been too much of a burden on his shoulders. Pulling him down even more in his thoughts.

_**“You are a killer, just like me.”** _

With closed eyes Mac shuddered. His recall of the conversation was so vivid – even though it was a year ago he met with Murdoc. But his words still sound within him.

Unconsciously Mac searched for Jack’s frame in the heights of the sky scrapers around the car park he was standing at. Prior they have decided to give Mac a transmitter, so they would be able to detect him, but they did the whole mission without an ear piece. The risk to get caught while meeting this guy was too high. Eventhough they chose a transmitter with a mic so they could hear Mac talking.  
He thought of seeing him at one roof but Mac needed to turn away or he would have given in Jack’s position. It was way to suspicious to return staring at the same spot.

Before they had left Pheonix they had come up with a plan. Mac was to meet the guy who had called while Jack was staying in wait and observe the area from a little distance. Far away enough to not raise suspicion but near enough to interfere when necessary. Still Mac wasn’t feeling near his normal self, even though the sniper rifle was on point.

Mac licked his lips for the thousands time in the past hours. Still they felt dry like sand. His heart was beating like crazy, he felt so nervous. And whatever he did, he couldn’t bring himself to calm down. All the training he had received in his education didn’t pay off. And he had have lot of training. He was a trained bomb defuser, for god’s sake! It was his life to stay calm in situations that would freak every normal person.

_**“You are a killer, just like me.”** _

The sentence was running loop in his head. Without him realizing he had started to chew his lips, even drawing a little blood. Crap!  
With a fast hand movement he swiped it away.

_You’re a killer, get yourself together! You’re a killer!_

With this mantra he tried to get himself back in his act, his role. He was a killer. He was a psychopath. He was a man without doubts. He was a man without feelings.

_I am a killer._

Mac breathed out heavily. He looked at his watch. Only 3 minutes.

He eyed his surroundings. He was at a parking deck above the ground, directly standing at a concrete wall about waist height. The wind was blowing, without the black cap his hair wouldn’t be as neatly. It was cold.

Mac shivered again. Another 2 minutes.

He felt like the time going in slow motion. Every second felt so incredibly long.

It’s just a normal operation, keep calm.

On his radio clock he counted the last seconds. 3… 2… 1…

A ringing.

Mac almost flinched – suppressing it at last second!  
He would have given his cover away if he was watched right now. What kind of killer would be so tense about a meeting to actually flinch because of a phone ringing! A real killer was making his money with meeting his clients or talking with them on the phone. So he must stay in character, everything else would have been way to dubious and putting him in a very dangerous position.

So he must stay in character – no matter what!

“He’s calling”, Mac whispered. He didn’t get an okay from the others because the talking was one way, but he knew they copied.

Mac swallowed as he pressed the button with shaky fingers. Hopefully his voice wouldn’t give him away. “Hello?” He sounded relatively calm and normal – or was it just his imagination? Mac started sweating. His back tensed up.

“I see you are there”, he heard a deep and calm male voice.

“I am”, Mac confirmed, slowly turning on spot, looking in every direction, “Where are you?”

“Somewhere I can see you, but not visible to you right now.”

Mac turned at faster pace. Where was this guy? In a car? Was he even on the parking deck? Was he on a roof like Jack? Or in one of the apartments?  
Mac’s uneasiness grew with every second.  
It was then he realized he hadn’t spoken for quite a while.

“Caution is a good trait”, he said, “But I want to know who I’m going to work with. It feels a little unfair to me you have a face to talk to and I don’t.”

Right at this point he regretted his words. He was a killer, a man people hire to kill someone. And a killer was just interested in the job, not the person behind it.

A breathe from the other side of the line. Mac meant to see the caller laughing. Was this a good sign?

“I like you.”

Mac sagged a little in relief. He had thought he had given himself away.

“So when am I going to meet you?”, Mac asked as coldly as he could.

“Relax, relax”, the man in the line appeased, “We will meet in person, I don’t want to discuss the details on the phone as well. The job is important and needs a good talk.”

“I don’t want to talk about the job, I’m not interested in any unnecessary information”, Mac responded, “Just give me the name and the job is done. Or any specific moment you wish for.”

“What a service”, the man chuckled, but Mac was sure he wasn’t laughing at all.

“In my kind of business the propaganda per mouth safes my living”, he snarled pertly, “And I want to have a good reputation.”

Silence at the phone.

“I like you.”

Thank god, Mac thought, the conversation is going good. And he still had the guy on the phone. So maybe Riley was actually able to track him down. Just keep him talking!

“I will send you your next location”, the man said, “There you will meet my man. Be there in half an hour.”

With that the call ended.

Mac was about to respond, but then there was the well known beeping sound audible. His breath stuck in his throat for a second. Then he clicked the line away.  
With fast steps he walked towards the concrete stairs. He was at third floor and he was sure, his next meeting point would be quite a way to go. And he couldn’t drive with Jack anymore as he now knew he was being observed from somewhere.

Hopefully Riley was able to pinpoint his location. But Mac was not sure, the call seemed relatively short. Riley was fast, very fast, but somehow he got the feeling that the time was not enough.

So he was going into the unknown – all alone.

Hopefully Jack was there.


	4. Chapter 4

His next meeting point was at a shut down factory in the sideways of the city. With the GPS route he got immediately from Riley, Mac decided to walk there. Going with taxi would have been faster of course, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop one at the heavily trafficked road.

Not as a killer.

As he walked with fast pace on the side walk he felt like being at the spotlight. He felt like a stranger between citizens, wearing all black. He felt like a alien that has “killer” written all over his face. Mac could have sworn the people were actually avoiding him in a wide circle, like he had some kind of a disease. But it was just his imagination. But he couldn’t bring himself to see the facts. The facts he was trained for all his life to make out. The facts he orientated his life to.

Mac felt a stone falling from his heart as he turned in a dark sideway. It was empty, no people in sight. So he decided to let his guard down for a moment. Just for the short distance till the next crossing. He never felt so tense in his life.

He felt like laughing about himself. He always thought last time was heavy. He always thought being kidnapped was heavy. He always thought getting caught up in a combat was heavy. He always thought defusing a bomb was heavy.

Now it all felt like joke. All his heavy moments in the past felt like a better joke in comparison to this right now.

He speeded up as his eyes reached his watch. The way was longer than he thought, maybe he wouldn’t get there in time.

_You’re behind me, right Jack?_

***************************************************************************

Jack was behind him – well, not exactly _behind_ him.

Riley had sent him the coordinates of Mac’s next meeting point, so Jack had packed his sniper rifle in his bag quickly. Taking 2 or 3 steps at once he had rushed down the stairs in a hurry to get to his van.

“I got a perfect spot for you”, he heard Riley on his ear piece. With this a new mail popped up on his phone. “Got it”, he copied.

Even though it was a short distance to the spot he decided not to go there directly. Jack knew that Mac was observed from somewhere and it would have just been suspicious if a black van would have gone the direct same way and ended up at his target location at the same time with Mac. So Jack tried to make it look like coincidence.

  
At a red light he needed to stop. Jack drummed nervously on the steering wheel. It was right before rush hour and he didn’t want to get stuck in traffic. Not with Mac being on his own, meeting some dubious guy in an abandoned factory in a dark sideway.

***************************************************************************

He wouldn’t make it.

Two minutes till the meeting and Mac was still almost half a mile away.

For a second he thought of running a bit, but it was to suspicious. And it was not in his understanding of his role. Murdoc would never run for a job. Still he tried to speed up without looking to stressed.

The last seconds were running down – he was too late. Again his mouth felt way too dry. This wasn’t working out the way he wanted. What should he do.

“I’m not making it”, he panted, making it look like he was talking to himself. But of course it was an important information for his team. And Mac wanted advise what to do now.

Right at this moment a little ahead a car door opened. It was a black limousine, expensive looking. But no one emerged from the car.

Mac slowed his walk. Tense he made his way to the car. He tried not to survey it as obviously as possible, but he somehow got the feeling, the car was meant to be for him.

Right as he got in line with the dark door frame, he heard a voice. “Get in.”

Mac stopped in his tracks. He looked left and right as if he would check if there is somebody else who is called for, but it was just farce. He knew it was an order for him.

But how was he supposed to tell his team he was not going to the factory anymore?

“Get in.”

Mac was ripped from his thoughts. He recognized he must not have reacted at all for the driver’s liking. Basically he was just standing next to the car.

Mac surveyed his surroundings one last time. With one hand he pulled his cap deeper in his face. A last heavy breathe. Then he entered the car – where ever it was bringing him.


	5. Chapter 5

“Jack, he’s moving!”

Jack stopped drumming right away, tensing up.

“And he’s moving way too fast”, he heard Riley in his ear. She sounded stressed.

Now Jack felt stressed too.

“He’s moving directly on the road now”, Riley explained further, “He must be in a car right now.”

Why was Mac in a car?

“Dalton, follow him!”, Matty commanded.

“On my way!”, Jack copied and prepared his car with the blinker to change track. He clicked his smart phone in a holder at the dash board of his van. On the screen he could see Mac’s beeping signal disappearing in the depths of the road network ahead.

***************************************************************************

Mac was alone on the back seat of the limousine. In front of him a man in black was driving the car. Other than the order he hasn’t talked to him anymore.

At this point Mac hated himself. He had the urge of asking where they were going, but he wasn’t allowed to. Otherwise he would blow his cover as the cold blooded professional killer.

_I am no killer, I can’t do it!_

This personality was competing against his own in such a terrible way! But he mustn’t give in, he was on an operation! Right now, he hated himself for being an agent!

Having an inner battle between his fight or flight instinct, Mac longed for his turtle neck. Again he had the feeling it was way too stiff around his neck, cutting him off from air. He could have even sworn it was getting harder to breath. Mac swallowed hard. Unconsciously he licked his lips. Luckily his driver didn’t seem to recognize his uneasiness as he was busy with manoeuvring the car in the traffic that was getting heavier with every minute. Rush hour was coming.

At this point Mac was relieved they put a transmitter on him. Between all these cars Jack and the others would never have found him. Especially as they didn’t know which car he was in right now. Again, unconsciously his hands moved to his transmitter. It was hidden in his turtle neck.

With the time going the got stuck in traffic a little. Mac was happy that their drive was slowed down. But on the same time he knew, that if he got stuck in traffic, Jack would be too. Because he was absolutely sure he was sitting in his black van right now, cursing over the terrible driving skills around him.

Suddenly his driver rode the car in an entry. Mac stiffened. He was at his destination.

It was basically just another abandoned factory. Steam was coming from a few piles of trash that had been burned long ago. The scenery was all in all grey and gloomy.

The large cargo gate was opened by two other men in black. Unerringly their car was heading there. With sudden the daylight was gone and they were welcomed by a gloomy darkness. Only some neon lights at the ceiling were giving a little light. And it wasn’t much as most of the lights were already broken.

With a loud creak the gate was shut close just as they drove through it. Now it was actually really getting dark. Mac’s uneasiness grew more and more. He didn’t like the way this was going.

_Hopefully Jack is on his way!_

The car came to a stop. So did Mac’s breathing. And his heart.

Mac remained in his seat, observing the place through the windows. Was he supposed to get off? Or was someone getting in the car to sit next to him?

The men who had closed the gate came in sight. Like bodyguards the positioned themselves right in line with Mac’s door. So he was supposed to get off then, he thought. Collecting all his courage with his next breathe he exited the car.

***************************************************************************

“Hell, did you win your license in the lottery?!”

Jack was furious. The traffic was so heavy now he was just happy he wasn’t crashing anyone – or better said, he wasn’t crashed by someone!

“Riley, I need the shortest route to Mac right now, best would be sidewa- hey, get your f*cking car away, you bloody idiot!!” Loud beeping. Jack’s head out of the window, heavily waving with his hand.

“I’m on it”, Riley answered.

Jack didn’t hear it. He was too busy shouting every existing curse.

***************************************************************************

Mac ended up right in front of the hood of a car. The headlights of the car were now on full power, producing a large shadow of Mac into the overwhelming darkness ahead. He watched around wearily.  
Right then his eyes caught sight of a person. A man. Kneeling on the floor. A forth men in darkness behind him.

He was definitely not part of the gang of the men in black. He was bent forwards, breathing heavily as if he was hurt. Mac eyed him, unsure of what to do with the situation. As “Mac” he would have run right to him, searching for injuries, calming him down, being at the side of the obviously terrified man, but he wasn’t “Mac”.

_I am Murdoc._

“Kill him.”

A bystander wouldn’t have been sure about the fact who was more shocked because of this sentence: the killer or the victim.

Obviously the man on the ground started to beg in not understandable words, begging for his life. On the other hand Mac was just staring at him with wide eyes.

_Oh no, he didn’t like this at all!_

Should he stop right there? Should he give up his cover? Should he become “Mac” again and end this freaking operation right here and now? Again, Mac came in conflict with his fight or flight instinct. Stressed he felt himself tensing up way to visible for his liking as he desperately searched for an answer – for a way out of this situation! But whatever solution he thought about he couldn’t get out of it!

He was outnumbered at the moment. Mac was a good fighter for sure, but against four men, probably highly trained bodyguards, he wouldn’t stand a chance. His next problem was nothing was in reach to macgyver himself out of this situation – there was basically nothing in the hall.

But he couldn’t kill an innocent person!

Not now!

_I’m not ready!_

But not being ready wasn’t even the hardest part of it. It was basically the fact that this man was begging at him. He was begging at Mac! He was begging for his life!

Mac felt like throwing up right here and now.

But at the same time something felt off. At first Mac couldn’t tell what it was, but he somehow got the feeling that this man wasn’t his actually target. This man was just a test for him, to get evidence, that Mac could actually kill a person. That Mac was actually the right person for the big bad. A killing test!

Bile rose in his throat.

“Kill him now.”

Mac was running out of time! He needed to act right now!

_Blow my cover or not?_

_Where is Jack?_

He couldn’t kill the man, but couldn’t blow his cover or the operation was lost. And he would be in a very dangerous situation all of the sudden. But on the other hand he couldn’t wait any longer for Jack!

_Think, Mac, think!_

Tears were now streaming over the victim’s face. Mac couldn’t bring himself to watch him anymore. He desperately tried to blend out the begging, he felt like running every second. But he needed to act right now!

“Get him up”, he said. Mac was shocked about his own voice – so cold. Like a killer.

Now the man in front of him was whimpering. Mac was internally screaming, but he had no other choice. He needed to get the operation going. Too much was at stake.

But he was not going to kill the man.

With a fast grip Mac slung his arm around the man’s throat. His victim was struggling, whimpering, crying, begging. Mac’s internal screaming got louder.

_Please, just trust me, I’m not going to hurt you!_

  
But the man was far away from reasoning. At his point of view he was about to be killed. Killed by Mac!

_Please!_

The man didn’t stop fighting back.

_Please!_

Mac’s internal screams turned into internal cries.

With his free hand Mac pressed some points in the back of the man. It was hidden behind the struggling of his victim. But as time went by, the fighting got weaker. The lack of oxygen showed his effect.

Right as the man was about to pass out, Mac’s mouth came close to his ear. With a voice so low he was even surprised of himself he was able to produce it, he hummed something that was actually tearing him apart. Right at the moment the words made their way past his lips. And he felt every single of it. He felt it like his soul was ripped out with them, disappearing in the thin air around him. The honesty of the words was overwhelming him.

“I’m so sorry.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Holy mother!”

Jack shook his head. For the last quarter hour he had fought his way through traffic. Cars everywhere, people everywhere. The traffic lights going faster on red as he was able to accelerate. And not to speak of the bikers! Going up and down of the sidewalk – just to bypass any red lights. And of course they had no interest in coming cars.

“Is he still there?”, Jack asked via ear piece.

“Yes, he hasn’t moved for the last 5 minutes”, Riley confirmed. Then a short silence.

“What?”

“I don’t know, something feels off”, Riley stated, “There was this kind of wrangle we could hear, and now it’s way too silent. They aren’t even talking right now.”

“Maybe he’s just waiting for someone”, Jack thought, but he knew Riley wouldn’t believe him. He didn’t even believe himself.

Yes, there was something fishy. They all heard the wrangle, the panicked sobs and coughs, then a heartbreaking “I’m so sorry” from Mac. Jack had a very bad feeling about this, something big must have happened. A dumb slump right after Mac’s words, then there had been a little rustle, some car doors being opened and closed – and now, silence.

Jack parked the car a little offside. He eyed the area from a distance. His look was grumpy and fierce. Nothing moved.

“I’m going in”, he informed Riley.

“There’s a side opening on the right, it’s on the first floor”, Riley answered. Jack wasn’t even surprised that she didn’t stop him. She was worried as well.

“I see it”, Jack copied, “I’m looking for a ladder.”

He didn’t have to search long. There was an old metal ladder right on the wall, heading to a small metal balcony. The balcony reached perfectly to the door on the first floor. With fast pace, taking two steps in one, Jack climbed up. He positioned himself right next to the old door frame, listening. Nothing to hear from the inside.

With a last safety look he opened the door. Surprisingly it didn’t squeak at all. Jack sighed in relief. It was fatal now to give in his location. And it would get Mac in danger.

The inside of the warehouse was dark, very dark. On one side there was a single neon light lit, dipping the wide area in a scary tone of light. Large shadows kept creeping on the walls as Jack moved forward.

With every step, Jack’s feeling changed. At first he was sure, that Mac would be in somewhere, waiting for someone, but now he was more and more sure, that Mac wasn’t even in there anymore. Jack’s uneasiness grew immensely. Hopefully he was wrong.

“Where is his signal, I’m not seeing him”, he said.

“Right in front of you, very close to the main gate”, the answer came from Riley. “You should be seeing by now.”

Jack reached up a little higher, getting a better overview of the room. “He’s not there, Riles, I’m not seeing him.”

Silence on Riley’s side. “That’s impossible”, she said, sounding stressed, “His signal is right in front of you.”

“Wait, I see something”, Jack interrupted her. And yes, he got vision of a human body, lying on the floor.

_Mac!_

With fast steps Jack came closer. His breathing sped up. Was it Mac down there? What happened? Sweat formed on his forehead.

_Please, don’t be Mac!_

The closer he came, the more relieved he got. The size was wrong, the skin color, the hair. No, this wasn’t Mac. But Jack wasn’t actually feeling thrilled about it. Of course he was happy that it wasn’t Mac, but who was this guy? And why was he on the same spot as Mac? And why did Mac vanish?

“Riles, there’s a guy lying on the ground”, Jack informed her.

Only a few steps away from the body, Jack pulled his gun. Maybe it was an ambush and they would wait for him to make a mistake. So Jack decided to keep creeping the shadows. Still, he moved closer.

He waited a few seconds, that he reached a decision: The warehouse was empty. So there won’t be any danger. “Mac’s not here! But there is a body right in front of me.” He sprinted over, falling on his knees. The man on the ground was lying on his stomach, eyes closed. Jack reached for the neck, feeling the pulse.

“Dead”, he said plainly.

And no signs of Mac.

“Jack, my computer shows me that you’re standing right on Mac’s position right now.”

Jack looked up confused. “Yeah, but he’s not there!”

_Mac, where are you?_

His signal was there, but Mac was obviously not in sight.

_The transmitter!_

It must be his transmitter! His transmitter was still in the warehouse, but he wasn’t. And if he was on the same spot as Mac right now, that must mean - !

Jack reached for the dead man. With fast hands felt over the whole body, trying to find the transmitter. It must be with this man! And he was rewarded. With his fingers he could feel the little, square transmitter chip that had been planted in Mac’s turtle neck pullover. It was still blinking as he pulled it from the clothes of the man.

“Got him”, Jack sighed. He started to chew on his lip, not sure what to do next.

So Mac was on the lone wolf mission again! Like last time! And last time it almost ended in a catastrophe as Mac and his “victim” had been ambushed by some freaky and scary trained military guys that wanted to kill both. Why was he always doing something like that? Jack drew a hand through his short stubbly hair. This was driving him crazy.

Or had Mac been kidnapped? Jack’s breathe stuck in his throat. He could feel his heart beating faster as he recalled the wrangle he witnessed to the ear piece. Was it a wrangle because Mac had been captured and ended up being grabbed by some people? Jack got scared.  
But why would he say “I’m so sorry” then? This didn’t fit in the picture! Why would anybody be sorry about being kidnapped? No, this wasn’t right.

And why would Mac leave his transmitter with a dead body? If he would have been kidnapped, he would have done anything to keep the chip with him, so Riley would be able to detect him. So why leaving it here?

“Riles, there is something really off here!”

And then it clicked.

The wrangle. The “I’m so sorry” part of Mac. The dead body. The transmitter.  
Mac had killed this man.

“He didn’t -!”, Jack cursed as he reached for the neck on more time. But still, there was no pulse. Mac really -!?

No, no! This can’t be true! Mac would never kill an innocent person just to keep his cover! There was something wrong about this whole setup.

The transmitter!

_Think, think!_

Why would Mac mark his victim with his transmitter chip and would give away his chance to be followed by Jack? So Jack would find the body. But why would Jack want to find a body?

_Because he’s not dead!_

_Crap!_

This was it, the mystery’s solution!

Jack turned the body. Now the man was lying on his back. His face was frozen with a terror look. So he really thought Mac was about to kill him. Jack felt sad for the man.

He remembered Mac telling him about a technique he read about in a magazine for martial arts. It was a move to block the flow of some energy points, if Jack recalled it correctly, that would cause the heart to beat so slow you won’t be able to feel a pulse. You would end up staying in a coma like state unless somebody opened the flow again.

Jack pressed some points on the chest and the neck.

With a loud scream the man sky rocketed upwards, almost hitting heads with Jack.

Jack drew his hand over his whole face, stopping right over his mouth, massaging his chin. This wasn’t about to go well. Jack didn’t like this at all.

_Mac, what are you doing?_


	7. Chapter 7

Over all the medical and science babble Mac sincerely hoped Jack only listened once. It was the part about the martial art technique to slow down one’s heart beat.

Since Mac left his transmitter with the man he “killed”, he felt extremely vulnerable. His mind was uneasy as he started to work his fingers.

_**“You are a killer, just like me. And the sooner you accept that my way is the right way, it is the only way the sooner you're gonna be ready.”** _

Mac shuddered. Murdoc’s voice resounded in his head. It was a terrible loop that made him feel more and more miserable. And even though he knew he didn’t kill this man, he felt so incredibly dirty. He worked his hands even more, trying to clean them from an invisible stain of blood.

_No, this was so wrong!_

This whole mission was wrong, so wrong to begin with! What was he thinking, acting as a killer once again, miserably failing the last time. He, a man who favours every life over his own, standing up for the innocent, protecting every innocent soul. This was going against his true nature. He swallowed hard, massaging his fingers even more so they cracked. How long was he able to keep up with this act? He felt like breaking every second already, and he haven’t even met his client.

Mac never had the urge of turning and running away, but his mission was pushing him to his limits. With abandoning his transmitter, he abandoned his way back. Now he was on his own, no one was knowing where he was going or what was happening. And with the underground tunnel they took, Mac was sure the others would lose track of him. So Jack was not behind him anymore.

Right after he killed the man, a lackey took over to control the pulse. As Mac intended to the man couldn’t feel anything and concluded the victim being dead. He signalled it his partners with a little nod. Mac remembered being relieved at the exact same moment. But right then, a hand was reached into his direction, a demand followed: “Your cellphone, please.”

Crap, this was his only connection he could still share with Riley! But Mac knew he should respond or else his cover and this mission were over. And that definitely would prove to be fatal, because it was four to one. So he reached into his pocket, handing over his cellphone.

The men didn’t even bother to switch it off. Instead he crashed it with brute force onto the ground, even stepping on it to make sure it was broken. Mac flinched on the inside, desperately hoping it didn’t show.

Then the group gathered and started to move towards the metal stairs, leading down to the basement. After choosing some heavy metal doors with all kinds of warning sings and descriptions not to enter, they ended up in a long, dark hallway. Just concrete, floor, walls and ceiling, only alight by some old neon lights. Every few some were only flickering, giving the tunnel an even more unending and unpleasant look.

Mac could do nothing than follow. He was surrounded by men, two leading ahead, two accompanying him right by his side. But as nervous as he was, he mustn’t let it show. He was about to meet his client, he was sure he was waiting for him at the end of this hallway. And he was going there all alone.  
The tunnel opened up in two directions. Great, Mac thought. Even for Jack and the others to somehow find this tunnel would be quite a surprise, but taking the right route was nearly impossible. You almost get a 100% chance to select the wrong 50% of a 50:50 decision, Mac recalled and in a normal situation he would actually be amused about his. But now his life depends on his team getting the right 50%. Mac felt his chanced slipping away.

They turned right. Should he left a mark? But how? There were two men beside him, he didn’t have anything with him to drop nor was he able to leave a track on the ground. The floor was all concrete, so he could mark a sign with his foot. How?

He was too slow. As he thought over the problem, his chance slipped as they moved on. Behind him the other tunnel was getting smaller and smaller, disappearing into thin air. And even though this new hallway was as terrible lit as the other one, Mac felt like walking into darkness.

_All alone._

As Mac was getting lost in his thoughts and worries, he somehow lost track of his way as well. The hallway split apart so often that he actually thought they were moving through an underground maze.

After they have passed some stair cases, his company finally decided to take one and they moved upwards, away from the dark tunnel system. As they reached higher, Mac actually felt like breathing again, the pressure finally lifting from his chest, but on the same time it was replaced with another one, a different kind of constriction. He was going to meet the boss.

The air got fresher with every stair they took and it didn’t take long and Mac felt a cold wind on his skin. They have reached a parking deck with many floors, the stair case didn’t have any massive walls but was rather only secured by a waist high concrete railing and some pillars. Mac tried to overlook his surroundings, but he couldn’t make out, where he was. There were no remarkable buildings or marks in sight, no special sounds. He only knew, they walked maybe for twenty minutes to reach this spot, but with being in an underground maze, he just didn’t know if they had been walking in circles or not. So maybe he was in a deck a few blocks from here or maybe just within the reach of the old factory from the beginning.

At the forth level they exited the stair case and walked over the deck. No person was in sight and not many cars parked up here. Mac eyed his surroundings wearily, but nothing fishy. Regardless Mac kept his guard up. He was happy his eyes were hidden under his base cap, so he could view the area relatively inconspicuous and still keep his act up. But with every step it was getting harder and harder.

Because he was alone.

No backup.

Finally Mac made out his destination. It was a large limousine, an expensive BMW, new model, the kind of car high ranked politics or CEOs use to go to some unimportant meeting to negotiate about some extra millions for their profit. The kind of car Mac never wanted to have – or even sit in.

As expected Mac was led to the car. For a split second Mac had the feeling to leave a trace for the others, but then he realized it was good for nothing. Jack and the others wouldn’t even find this parking deck, and particularly not this car. So his only chance was to mark the car somehow, so it would be showy on the street, so Riley or any pedestrians would notice it. But now was not the time to do something about it.

The door on the co-driver’s side was opened by a man in black. He didn’t have to motion Mac to get into, Mac understood it right away. With the turtle neck right on his neck, it didn’t show his hard swallow that would give away his nervousness. A deep breath, briefly closed eyes and some reassuring thoughts, then he slipped in.

***************************************************************************

Jack just wanted to be helpful to the man coughing hard in front of him, but as he reached for him to hit his back, the man flinched and shifted backwards till he was stopped by a concrete pillar. One hand at his throat and breathing heavily he eyed Jack with panic.

“Ho, my friend”, Jack tried to calm him down by reaching his hands in the air, “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk to you.”

No change. The man just stared at him.

“Okay”, Jack breathed, “My name is Jack and I want to know where my friend is.”

The man stared at him. Just then he began to process Jack’s words and his eyes grew wide in fear. He tried to shift back even more and Jack was sure, if this guy could crawl into the pillar behind him, he would do so.

Suddenly Jack understood the meaning of his own demand. Unconsciously he slapped himself for this stupid phrasing.

“No, I’m not a killer, so is my friend. This is the reason why you’re still with the living.”

The man stopped breathing. Just as if he noticed he was not dead right now.

“Who are you?”, the man asked. His accent was Indian.

“As I said, my name is Jack”, Jack repeated as calm and friendly as possible. This man was his only chance to get a track of Mac, so he mustn’t scare him away. “I’m working for the government, so does my friend, a guy about this height, black clothes, blond hair.”

“He killed me!”, the man whimpered and pulled up his knees as to protect himself.

“No, he didn’t”, Jack said, “He just knocked you out to make it look like you’re dead. And I woke you up just now. And now it is really important if you know anything regarding my friend.” Jack was growing impatient with every second. Every second that Mac slipped out of his reach.

The man breathed heavily. “Why should I trust you?”

“Because my friend left his transmitter with you, so I could bring you back”, Jack said and showed the device. It was still blinking.

The man’s trust grew in him. “If you’re working for the government”, he started in perfect Indian English, “why was your friend ordered to kill me by these men?”

Jack moaned. This conversation was taking so freaking long. “Long story short, it was part of an undercover mission, but we never thought, he would actually have to prove himself before the actual mission even started.”

The Indian eyed him, not sure to believe this story or not.

“Look”, Jack said, “You’re still alive, my friend just knocked you out and even left his transmitter with you, so I could find and revive you, but now my friend doesn’t have any backup for this undercover mission and he might be in danger. So it’s very important you tell me everything you know.”

“I don’t know anything”, the man cried out, suddenly being overwhelmed with the situation.

“This not getting us anywhere, Dalton”, Jack could here Matty in his ear.

“What should I do?”

Silence.

“Get this guy into custody, we need to question him right away”, Matty ordered.

“And Mac?”

Silence again.

“We need to trust him”, Matty said then, a little worry in her voice, “We definitely need any information we can get out of this man.”

And her next sentence made Jack’s heart stop beating. It hit him like a sharp knife, right through his heart. He felt like loosing his ground. And the sad thing about it was he knew. He knew it all along, but none or less it ripped him apart as Matty said it:

“We officially lost track of Mac.”


	8. Chapter 8

“So we finally meet.”

Mac’s blood froze in his veins. The car felt so much colder then the outside where the cold and fresh wind was blowing. But it was no cold that would cool your temperature, it was a cold that would freeze your moving and thinking, causing you to shiver.

But Mac mustn’t let it show! Because he wasn’t Mac. He was Murdoc – a cold blooded killer.

Even though Mac was curious who was sitting at the back seat, Mac knew better than to frankly turn around. As a killer, he should not be interested in the client but more in the job.

“What about this treatment?”, he asked, voice deep and cold, cap pulled deep into his face, creating a shadow over his eyes. “First a little running, then some kind of test and finally my cellphone being crashed. Is this how you normally deal with your employers?”

A chuckle from the back. Mac looked up surprised. It was then he noticed that a second person was sitting in the back. He was visible in the rear mirror, but as Mac could tell, it was just another lackey wearing a black suit. Just like the driver next to him.

“You know, Murdoc”, his client said, pronouncing the name Murdoc extra hard which made Mac feel very uneasy all of the sudden, “It is a very important job. And I want to give it the best.”

“A very important job I still don’t know anything about”, Mac commented calmly. But his nerves were on fire. He really felt the need to get off this car right now. And the faster the better. He really needed to get over with this conversation.

“Please, don’t get angry”, the man said, “I just wanted to see if you are the perfect man for this job.”

“So as I’m sitting in your car, I guess I passed your little test”, Mac concluded. His eyes moved to the rear mirror once again, in hope to finally see the man, but still only his lackey was visible.

“I like you”, the man agreed, “I like you quite a lot.”

Mac felt disgusting. A chicken skin crawled over his whole body. Yes, he should really get over this conversion quickly.

“I want you to find a man.”

Mac grew suspicious. “Find?! Not Kill?!”

“Slow”, the man said, “First of all I want you to find him. Then I want you to question him.”

“I’m not with the police, you are aware of that, right?”, Mac growled grimly. This conversation was not going the way he wanted to. He was not hired to kill someone even he was an assassin. The whole contract seemed odd. For such a simple mission his client could hire any thug lingering downtown, so why contacting an actual assassin.

“I do know”, the man said and it seemed he was getting annoyed with Mac’s behaviour. But Mac wasn’t too unhappy about this. Maybe his client would decide he wasn’t the right man for the job and would undo the contract. So Mac could finally stop this mission that was definitely going out of hand. But on the other hand, if this man didn’t want to have any witnesses, he was as good as dead with now six men in black against him. And they were all large built.

“I’m sorry”, Mac tried to appease the man, “but it doesn’t follow my principles to be hired for questioning my targets. Normally I don’t ask any questions at all.”

“I understand your concern”, the man acknowledged, “So I want you to get the man out of business after you received the information I wish for.”

“This sounds more like my profession.” He almost startled. Mac couldn’t believe he just said that. “Who is my target?”

With that a brown folder was given to him. Obviously it was with the lackey to begin with.

“This is the information of the man. When you have found him, contact me. Then you will get further information.”

“So again, the job remains a mystery”, Mac growled angrily. “I don’t like your way of doing contracts.” With this he opened the file. A photo lay on top of some sheets.

Mac’s eyes grew wide. His heart stopped.

_Leave the car!_

_Right now!_

“Oh, I really like my way of doing deals, _**Macgyver**_.”

With this, strong hands grabbed him from behind and the side. The folder with the photo slipped out of his hands as he began to struggle. One hand from the lackey behind him grabbed his chin in a fierce grip and pushed his head onto the head rest so he couldn’t move much. As Mac tried to lung for it with his hands, they were quickly secured by the man on the driver’s seat, keeping them into Mac’s lap with one hand while the other pushed down hard on his chest.

Panic started to overwhelm him as he tried to free himself. He growled loudly and trashed around in the seat, but it was to no avail. Behind him, the client laughed.  
“Let go!”, he screamed, “Let g-!”

He couldn’t finish the word as a rag was pressed over his mouth and nose, muffling any sounds he would produce. Mac was so surprised by the fact that his eyes grew wide and he moaned into the cloth. But with that he recognized a familiar smell – chloroform!  
Mac’s panic grew even more as he desperately stopped himself from breathing, but he knew it was only a matter of time until he would pass out. Desperately he tried to free his hands that were still clamped between his legs, but the man holding him was too strong. So his only chance was to shake the cloth off his face, but as soon as the man behind him noticed it, his head was pressed even harder against the head rest.

Mac felt that he was losing the fight. His struggles slowed down with every second as he breathed in more and more of the sickly chloroform. His movement ebbed out, his vision blurred as his eyes slowly began to close. With a last effort he tried to stay conscious but he was finally losing the battle against the darkness.

The last thing he saw as his head was finally released and dropped onto his chest was the folder, now lying on the floor right between his feet. The document was still present, so was the photo. It was a photo of a young man, late twenties, laughing, wine glass in one hand. Blond hair. Blue eyes.

_Baby blue eyes._

***************************************************************************

Jack felt a chill on his back. Something was definitely off.


	9. Chapter 9

Mac didn’t even need one second to recall what happened as he came to.

Even though he was sure he opened his eyes, he couldn’t see anything. Was it a hood? A blindfold? Mac couldn’t feel anything like this on his skin, so he concluded there was no light around him.

He began to move. Almost immediately he noticed his hands being tied with zip ties behind his back, as well were his feet. He tried to move, but found himself not able to. To his shock his hands and feet were connected with another round of zip ties, so he neither could stretch out his legs nor pull up his arms to reach for something. Freeing himself now was almost impossible.

As he shifted on his side, he noticed his mouth being filled. Some kind of nasty cloth. Mac wanted to spit it out, but somehow he wasn’t able to part his lips. Duct tape kept his mouth shut, so he couldn’t drive the gag out.

He breathed heavily through his nose as he rolled on his back. Almost at the same time his bent knees connected to something. Mac began to pant. He was in a very enclosed space. Not much room to turn, not to talk about sitting up at all. So he could do nothing than let himself roll back to the side once again.

Suddenly he was pushed forward. His body crashed into the sidewall of wherever he was lying in, sending a little wave of pain through him. As he still felt numb because of the drug, he couldn’t really recall if he actually hurt himself or not.

While he collected his senses, he heard the sound of engines and recognized a slight vibration. So he was in a car. And because of the small space and dark room he was almost a 100% sure he was stuck in a trunk, transported wherever to.

In his somewhat hazy state Mac felt a slight panic rise. He moaned as he tried to move once again, but the resulting pull on his limbs made him stop. So how was he supposed to draw any attention on him in the truck if he wasn’t able to shout or to damage any backlight?

_Wait – the car!_

Mac remembered the fancy car that would stick out everywhere. The expensive looking BMW, a model no normal citizen would drive. But was this man this stupid to transport him in such a showy way?

Mac could do nothing else than hope for it. His only chance was to trash around and hope for some bystanders to notice his sounds while stopping at a traffic light.

Some knocking drew his attention.  
“Please, Macgyver, don’t make it any more difficult for you, or we are going to have a little problem.”

Mac stopped immediately. So his kidnappers had noticed he was awake now. Mac started shouting at them, but every word he tried to form was nothing more than an incomprehensible raw sound.

“We are almost there, just wait a little longer”, was the answer he was getting, but Mac decided to draw any attention at him. If he just was loud enough, maybe his kidnappers would stop the car. And even as he couldn’t escape from the trunk with his legs tied like this, the men would have to open the trunk and knock him out once again. And just this action would definitely stand out more than enough to cause someone to call the police. Or at least get Riley a trace.

To his surprise the car actually came to a stop.  
“Silence him”, was the simple command.

Even though Mac’s heart began to pound even more, he got what he wanted. So he braced himself to use every second he could get to draw as much as attention as possible. But he couldn’t suppress the rising panic just thinking about the fact of losing consciousness once again and lying vulnerable in the trunk being transported wherever to.

The lid opened and Mac was blended by sunlight at the exact moment.

_Now or never!_

Mac started trashing around, shouting from the top of his lungs even as his screams were muffled. But he couldn’t do much as the chloroform soaked rag was pressed to his face with no mercy. Mac tried to kick out, only ending in ripping his arms down in a very painful way. This caused him to draw in some sickly sweet smelling air and almost immediately he could feel the effect of the drug.

It didn’t take long for him to slip out of consciousness.

His last thoughts were that he hopefully made enough of a ruckus. Because his last thought to cross his mind was the folder. The folder with the information about the target person. The person whose photo was right on top.

It was a photo of a young man, late twenties, laughing, wine glass in one hand. Blond hair. Blue eyes.

_Baby blue eyes._

_Him._

***************************************************************************

Jack knew something was so wrong.

As instructed he had pulled the Indian man into his van. Now he was heading straight to Phoenix. He had the urge to turn right back. Even though he knew he could do nothing to find Mac, he wanted nothing more than to follow his buddy. To be his back up.

“Guys, I don’t like this at all”, Jack growled grimly. He grew more and more nervous with every second Mac was on his own.

He knew Mac wasn’t found of this mission to begin with. He remembered last time when Mac was having so much trouble to “change” into Murdoc. To act like him. To feel like him. To think like him. The way Murdoc tried to play with his mind, to draw him in in some kind of psychological game. Jack hated it. He hated it a lot.

But last time Mac wanted to do it. He wanted to do it for the mission. This time he knew it was different. His kid was different.

And now his kid was on his own.

No, Jack definitely didn’t like it. Jack hated it. He hated it a lot.

“What the - !”

Jack sat up. “Riley, what’s up?”

“The photo you sent me”, Riley stated. Right, Jack had sent her a photo of the Indian man, so Riley could run a facial recognition on him. Maybe that could bring out any leads to the man on the phone. Mac’s client.

“You got something?” Jack was on the edge.

“Yes”, Riley started, “And I think this is all much bigger than we thought.”

“What is it?”, Jack heard Matty asked.

“Our own cameras reacted to him”, Riley said, definitely sounding grim, “Guys, this man was here in Phoenix.”

Jack felt his skin colour leave. Oh no, this was so not to his liking. Jack hated it. He hated it a lot.

“And not only that”, Riley continued, “He was in Bozer’s lab.”

Jack’s breathe stuck. Oh, he had a feeling where this conversation was going. And he didn’t had to wait long for the verification. The verification of his darkest thoughts.

“And he was on the locker – the locker with the cellphone.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Dalton, speed up!”

No need to tell him.

Forgotten was his urge to search for Mac. Now he had a new objective.

Next to him was a guy that had obviously something to do with the client Mac was working for.

Jack understood immediately that this Indian man was his key to find Mac. His key to help Mac. His key to help his kid.

He only needed 10 minutes and some red lights back to Phoenix. Jack ignored them generously. As well as the tempo limit.

He pulled the man not too gentle out of the van, dragging him behind into one of the investigation rooms. The man didn’t protest. Not even as Jack crashed him on one of the chairs. Again not too gentle.

“Who are you?”, Jack shouted, pressing the Indians upper body on the metal table. “I swear to God, I’m gonna rip you apart if you don’t tell me where my friend is!”

“Stop it, Dalton!”  
Matty stormed into the room, Riley and Bozer right behind her.

Jack let go with a last heavy push. Then he rose up his arms, spinning around, sliding his fingers through his short hair and then slamming his fists into the hard concrete of the wall. He needed to let off some rage – and this sooner than later.

The Indian man straitened his back wearily. Obviously he still thought of Jack slamming him back every second as he turned to the Delta.

“Speak.”  
Matty didn’t even bother to sit down.

“I don’t know anything about your friend”, the man asserted desperately, raising his hands in innocence.

“So you’re gonna tell us, you were just the handy-man, or what!?” Jack was furious.

The Indian man was frightened. “They offered me money, a lot”, he winced, “They told me to go to the lab and switch on the phone.”

“Who are they?”, Matty wanted to know.

“I don’t know!”, the man whimpered, “Really!”, he testified right away as he saw Jack turning to him with the grimiest face he has ever seen in his life.  
“They called me”, he continued, “They told me to get into the lab and just switch on the phone. I really didn’t know that this was a facility of the government. And I really didn’t know this would happen! And I really didn’t want it to happen!”

“But it did happen!”, Jack shouted. The man flinched, “And now my partner is on his own with who knows who!”

“I’m so sorry”, the man whimpered.

“Dalton!”, Matty exhorted him angrily.

“I’m going nuts here!”, Jack cursed, driving his fingers once again through his hair.

“How did you get into the lab?”, Matty wanted to know.

“They gave him the job of cleaning staff”, Riley answered instead. She showed them her tablet. A profile sheet of the man was showing, the photo showed him the uniform of the Phoenix’s cleaning personal.

“So he would not draw attention if he would enter my lab”, Bozer concluded and sighed deeply, “No wonder no one noticed him.”

“And in the end he acted as the scapegoat, getting himself moved out of the way because he knew to much”, Matty summoned up, “And he was the perfect bait for Mac to test him for the job.”

Jack licked his dry lips. “And now he’s gone.”

No, Jack definitely didn’t like it. Jack hated it. He hated it a lot.

***************************************************************************

Mac stirred. His head began to roll to his side.

“Macgyver.”

Mac heard the voice like through cotton. He couldn’t even make out from which direction it was coming. But what was he expecting, being drugged with chloroform two times in a row. He felt dizzy as hell and he fighted the urge to empty his stomach conent on the floor.

He felt some light slapping to his cheek.

“Macgyver.”

He tried to shift away from the hand, but his head felt like plumb, heavy, not reacting to any of his commands. He moaned. Still the gag.  
A splash of water. Right to his face. And it was cold water.

Mac breathed heavily through his nose, almost gagging on the water now entering his lungs. He began to cough.

“Macgyver.”

A grip in his hair. His head was yanked up with no mercy. Mac whimpered beneath the gag. He clenched his eyes shut in pain. But this act was finally clearing his head.

He tried to pull away but found himself not able to. He was not lying on the ground anymore like before but in a sitting position. His hands were still tied behind him with zip ties, nastily cutting into his flesh. He could feel the cold of metal on his skin, so he must be tied to a chair. So were his feet.

“Macgyver.”

The voice was actually sounding kind of happy, yes, almost friendly. Like a little sing-song.

With great effort Mac opened his eyes. He was immediately blended by the light of a neon light. In front of him was a man. With the bright background produced by the light he could only make out a shadow before him. His breathe stuck in his lungs.

“We are going to have a nice little chat”, the man said and Mac could actually hear him grin, “A little chat about Daddy maybe?”


	11. Chapter 11

No reaction.

Instead his head lolled to the left.

“Macgyver.”

He slapped the boy in front of him on the cheek, but instead of waking him his head only lolled to the other side.

“Hey, Angus.”

Still no reaction. He grabbed the boy’s chin with a fierce grip. A little moan came from beneath the gag, but nothing more.

“Come on, Angus.”

The boy’s eyes were half way down, no focus, just blurry. He slapped him carefully on the cheeks again, but still, the boy was too far away to actually process what was going on around him.

_Maybe a little too much of chloroform in such a short time._

With a strong rip, he tore the tape away. The blond boy winced in pain as his skin stuck to the strong glue of the tape. Then he gripped the kid by his chin again, forcing his head in a straight position. Macgyver closed his eyes shut.

“Angus, do me a favour and breathe for me. Could you do this for me, please?”

He watched the boy for another second, but with the force he needed to keep Macgyver’s head from lolling to the side he knew the boy wouldn’t breathe. He was still out from two times chloroform in a row. It had definitely been too much.

He waved to one of his lackeys behind him.

Another splash of water was sent to the boy’s face.

Macgyver didn’t even react to it, he didn’t even really cough. Instead his head lolled forward, stopping right on his chest, wet hair falling into his face. Drops of water made their way from his strands to his trousers.

The man lunged for the wet hair, pulling the boy’s head up. His eyes were almost closed right now.

_Yes, definitely too much chloroform._

With a sigh he let go of the wet, blond strands. Macgyver’s head ended up on his chest, moving up and down with every little breathe.

“Get me the adrenaline.”

***************************************************************************

“Could you please sit down, Dalton!”

Jack was running around in circles since they all have gathered in the briefing room. With a loud sigh and driving his hands through his short hair he let himself fall in one of the armchairs. Riley was claiming another one, tipping on her net book, Bozer was sitting on its armrest, face resting in his hands.

“We are all on the edge regarding Macgyver, but this is driving me crazy”, Matty commented as she gifted Jack with a fierce look. But as much as she was playing her hard side, Jack could see her concerns and worries in her eyes immediately.

“I told you it was a bad idea!”, Jack whispered through his hands quietly.

“I know, Dalton”, Matty answered, “But this is not helping right now. Especially not Macgyver.”

“So what are we supposed to do?”, Bozer asked, desperation hearable, “Mac is actually gone, we don’t know where he is.”

Matty turned away from them. Jack knew it was because of her own desperation. She didn’t know what to do as well. And she definitely didn’t want the others to see it. She had to remain the cover of staying strong and clear-minded.

“Riley, you got something for us?”, she asked.

Now, the attention was on Riley. “I tried to track the phone, but the last signal was in the factory where we found our guy”, she said, not even looking up from the screen, “Since then it wasn’t switched on anymore.”

“So he turned it off?”, Bozer asked.

“Don’t think so”, Jack guessed, “Maybe he was forced to give it to his escort service and they turned it off, or –“

“Or he was forced to smash it”, Riley ended his thoughts, “This is both highly likely as I’m not able to get any signal from it.”

Bozer sighed in despair. “So he left his transmitter with this guy he killed and switched his phone off”, he blew out some air, “Wow.”

Silence.

Bozer was the one to break it.

“You think something bad happened?”

_There. Someone said what everyone thought._

Normally Jack fire back right away, would tell him that he was so wrong and Mac was fine. That his boy was actually doing a great job and would work out some cool gadget with a paper clip, some chewing gum, the aluminium wrap around it and a battery to contact them. Jack really wished for that.

But it was nothing more than a wish.

Jack knew it.

He started to massage his hands, his eyes locked on the ground.

They were contacted with a phone, that had been lying in a locker for almost a year now, switched off. They found a guy that admitted to switching it on, getting his orders from who knows who, but then ended up being “killed”, because he knew too much. He was the test for Mac to convince them he was actually Murdoc, now they lost all trace of him.

As Jack said this all out loud, he knew the conclusion to all his summary.

It was all for Mac.

It was all to lure out Mac and get him on his own.

It has been about Mac from the beginning.

***************************************************************************

The man had enjoyed the way Macgyver reacted to the adrenaline. But first of all, getting the syringe and pierce it through the tender skin of the boy’s neck felt awesome.

Yes, he knew what he loved about his “job”. About kidnapping people.

He didn’t have to wait for the reaction.

As adrenaline was used for dead people to come back to life in combination with CPR, Macgyver’s body reacted way more, just for the fact he was still alive. Within seconds his breaths got deeper and he started to come around. As his head moved up a little, the man knew it was his time.  
“Hello, Angus”, he said with a dramatic voice.

The blond boy in front of him actually reacted to his name. Even though his eyes were glassy, the man got the feeling that he was really searching for the origin of the voice talking to him. Finally Macgyver locked eyes with him. With a last effort he kept his head from lolling back once again.

_Yes, it had been too much chloroform._

“So nice you’re finally back with us”, he continued, “You worried us quite a little.”

Macgyver took a few seconds to process the words, eyes blurry. The man noticed him trying to reach for his head, but found himself unable to. With uncoordinated movements Macgyver started to take in his environment, finally noticing the position he was in right at this moment. And it didn’t take much longer for him to actually start struggling against his bonds.

The man enjoyed the view.

After some ineffective tries Macgyver stopped. With a calm face he looked up to him.  
“What do you want?” His voice was hoarse.

He was surprised. The boy didn’t even ask about the fact that he knew he was not Murdoc. That his “contract” actually got him in this situation. But yes, this was a professional sitting in front of him. What was he expecting? “Normally, people ask me who I am first.”

“This information would not get me anywhere”, Macgyver answered. The man was not sure if the boy was just calm or just a very good actor. Wasn’t he not afraid of the fact that he was lured here? Away from his team? All alone? Or hasn’t he even processed it, was he missing out some important aspects because of the chloroform? Either way it unsettled him.

But he was a professional as well. And he knew how to get Macgyver where he wanted him.

_On the edge._

“Okay then, such a pity”, he played along. Macgyver eyed him wearily.  
“As I said before I want to have a little chat with you”, he continued, “About old Daddy Macgyver.”

_The reaction was not what he had expected…_


	12. Chapter 12

“So, to get it all together”, Bozer started, “We have a guy that has slipped into my lab, switched on the phone, bringing our mission to a start, and then ended up as the target for Mac to kill.”

“I told you, this was a bloody hell of an idea!”, Jack freaked out, “I’ve told you!”  
With a long finger he pointed at Matty.

“And I’ve told you I already know this”, Matty answered peevishly, “And I’ve told you as well that this comment doesn’t help us right now!”

“Guys, this was all for Mac”, Jack kept going, but his voice was slowly growing quiet. Concerned. Desperate maybe.

“Jack, we can’t be –“, Riley started, but she was immediately interrupted by Jack. “You don’t believe that yourself actually, do you?!” And the way Riley dodged his look he knew he was right.

“Riley, we need full access to the cameras”, Matty commanded as she noticed the team was on the edge. She tried to put order in a situation where everyone thought order didn’t belong. “Get me a blue print of this building. I need to know if there are other exits.”

Riley started typing. Jack couldn’t stop running in circles. Bozer was chewing on his lip.

_Oh no, there wasn’t any order right now._

With her fast “Got it!” Riley stopped her work. Almost immediately countless screens popped up in front of them, all of them showing CCTV around the area.  
Jack felt like searching, but he didn’t know what he was looking for. So he desperately searched over the pictures.

Another loud click and a window of the blue screen was in sight. Everyone tried to study it, but Riley was faster with her analysis. “There is a basement”, she said. Right then a tunnel system beneath the large area got visible.

“You should say a maze”, Bozer said and said what everyone was thinking out aloud.

***************************************************************************

_This was a joke._

_This definitely was a joke._

_It had to be._

Mac wasn’t sure what to do with his face. He felt like laughing about the sheerness of this situation, but on the same time he felt so lost in space he didn’t know where he belonged.

He ended up with a blunt stare and some half-laughing gasps.

Definitely not what his captor had in mind.

After some seconds, his gasps actually grew in a half hearted laugh. He was kidnapped for his dad! A man, he hasn’t seen since childhood. A man, he was searching himself.  
Wouldn’t his situation be so life threatening, it would have actually been hilarious.

“So you like our topic?”, the man in front of him sneered.

“Oh, very much”, Mac laughed, “Because I can’t help you at all. I haven’t seen him in years. I don’t know anything about him.” It was no lie.

“We will see that later”, the man commented, “Maybe it is just a right amount of pressure.” With that he leaned forward and gripped Mac’s upper thigh harsh. Mac abruptly stopped laughing. He looked eyes with his captor whose face was only centimetres away. He could actually feel the hot breathe on his face.

The man’s grip got a little stronger and Mac jumped, in surprise and pain.  
“Really, I don’t know anything”, he repeated, “I’m actually searching for him myself.”

A sick smile found its way to the man’s face. Mac didn’t like it.

“Oh great, we have something to start our little conversation.” With this the man raised up, clapping in his hands. After that he started rubbing them together, leaving a terrible sound in the quiet room. For a splint second Mac thought he was just like the cliche of the big bad boss on every prime time TV series.

The man stopped. He turned his head sideward, looking directly at Mac. A big shadow formed itself on his face, resulting in a deadly and grim look. Mac swallowed hard.

“What have you found?”

***************************************************************************

_What am I doing this for?!_

After the fourth round with a taser, Mac was definitely done. His whole body was shaking, trying to clean itself of the shock waves. His muscles ached, especially in his back and arms as he stretched himself too much. And not forget his jaw because of the way he clenched his teeth.

He breathed through the dizziness. Because of the adrenaline shot he got a few minutes ago, he was still high and of course in no position to thankfully pass out. With weary eyes he tried to focus on the man in front of him, but it felt like his whole world was shaking and wavering around him. The nausea was overwhelming. Mac swallowed hard to keep the bile down in his stomach.

He heard a voice, but he couldn’t make out any words. His brain couldn’t process any connected sounds at least understanding whole sentences. But he knew he was the one spoken to.

“Angus.”

His kidnapper seemed to notice because he slapped the blond boy almost gentle on his cheek a few times. But Mac was too busy with supplying his body and brain with oxygen than to react to the man. In contrary, his head even wobbled back more than his brain could process, so a new wave of dizziness run over him again.

A fierce grip on his chin kept his head steady. Mac closed his eyes shut and just breathed. He felt like throwing up. “Don’t you hyperventilate on me”, the man growled. It seemed that he actually noticed that the combination of two times chloroform, one shot of adrenaline and electrocution was a little too much for the human body.

As the man saw Mac’s eyes rolling up in his head, he let got of his chin and stood up. With two steps he was behind the boy and reached for his head. One hand crawled itself in the blond hair and stabilized the head as the other one just slapped down on Mac’s mouth. Mac yelped in surprise and helplessness as his breathing was very much restricted. He began to struggle in his chair, trying to dislodge the hand. But the man just pressed him backwards till his head rested on the man’s belly.

His nostrils flared as Mac tried to draw in the air as much as possible through his nose. A little panic rose inside him as he felt a stronger need for oxygen of this body but wasn’t able to provide it with. Without focus his eyes searched all over the room. A moan made it past the hand.

“Breathe”, the man commanded him.

Mac’s bound hands began to shake violently behind his back. Not being able to breath the way he wanted nor being able to actually move he felt restricted even more. A claustrophobic feeling crept up inside his body.

But what ever the man was doing, it actually worked. After some terrifying minutes Mac’s breath ebbed out and got more and more calm. His body was trying to hyperventilate, but with the restricted breathing he was forced to slow his breathing pace. And that finally set his body supposedly peace.

His breath came deep gasps as his heart rate finally settled down. And finally the man let go of him. Mac closed his eyes in exhaustion and breathed deep through his now open mouth. He actually enjoyed the large amount of oxygen he could draw in. But then the grip around his chin appeared once again. Against his will his head was locked in a straight position. Mac forced his eyes open and looked directly in the face of his kidnapper.  
Mac tried to focus his eyes. The way the man had reacted to his little panic attack frightened him more than anything else. It was not the first time he was kidnapped and tortured in his life, but he never met someone who was so capable of what he was doing. The man had reacted like a professional, like a person who was confronted with these kinds of situation on a daily bases and was absolutely knowable of what to do. Mac felt more and more terrified with every breath he took.

“If you are passing out on us, we can’t talk”, the man chuckled. If the situation wouldn’t be this life threatening Mac would have actually thought of the man’s voice as pleasant. But now it was just scary.

The man smiled. It was a sick smile. “Oh, such beautiful fear in those beautiful eyes.”

Mac swallowed hard. This was definitely no normal kidnapping. He had been kidnapped by pros. And this fact alone made him terrible uneasy. Just the thought of not knowing what was waiting there for him.

“So, where were we?”, the man acted in front of him, letting go of his chin. Mac’s head lolled back a little. He knew the man was just posing and enjoying his power over him. “Ah, right!” He even snapped with his fingers, “Daddy Macgyver.”

“As I said, I don’t know anything about him”, Mac groaned. He was surprised of his own voice, being this hoarse and thin, more air than tone, “He left me when I was a kid.”

_Why am I doing this?_

“I know this already”, the man sighed, “And I know you are searching for him. So I want to know what you found out.” With this he crouched down in front of the young man. Mac’s uneasiness grew immensely. He tried to shift away but was kept restrained on the metal chair. “And you see, it’s really important for me to find your Daddy, Angus.”

_Why am I doing this?_

“I haven’t found anything”, Mac pressed out.

The man tilted his head. “Funny”, he smiled, “But you see, I don’t believe you.”

Mac’s face grew pale. His breath got stuck in his airways. “No, really, I haven’t found anything yet”, he affirmed, shaking his head a little.

_Why am I doing this?_

The man smiled once again. Mac wasn’t sure how to interpret the facial expression, but he definitely didn’t like the way this conversation was going.  
“I somehow get the feeling you’re actually right about this”, the man said. Mac wasn’t ready to relax yet. “So let me rephrase my question then: what are your leads in your search?”

“What?”, Mac wheezed.

“You may not have found something, but I’m pretty sure you actually have some very interesting hints or leads in your search.”

Mac swallowed. “I have barely started – “

The slap on his face came unexpected. But none or less, it hurt like hell. Tears sting in his eyes as he turned his head back to the man. The sick smile has disappeared. Instead there was this looming shadow on his face again. The grim face. He had stood up.

“So you’re telling me you did nothing for how long – 15 years?!”, the man shouted, bowing down over Mac and resting his hands on Mac’s thighs. Mac tried to shift away, but the man almost drilled his nails into his flesh. The grip hurt and gave him the feeling he was on the man’s mercy. Mac’s breath puffed out of his nostrils, in an alarmingly high pace.

_Why am I doing this?_

And now the man was angry. “I think you still don’t know your position”, he growled with a deep voice. Mac wasn’t even sure anyone in the room but him understood the words. “I know you special agents are trained well, but I didn’t think you were trained in being stupid.”

The threatening was vivid. And this alone was driving Mac’s uneasiness in new heights. He wasn’t surprised that the man knew about him being an agent. He was sure the man knew everything about him, about Phoenix, about his team. Mac was actually pretty sure that all this mission was nothing but a farce to lure him away from his team. And he knew it. He painfully knew it.

_I am on my own. They don’t where I am._

Lost in his thoughts he hasn’t even realized the movement in the small basement room. He felt the zip ties around his wrists being cut, then around his feet. Before he could react, he was yanked up from the chair.


	13. Chapter 13

A harsh punch in his guts made Mac double over. Two lackeys in black suits and ties where beside him, one of them pushed him down on the ground. Mac tried to curl up, but he was pinned, his arm painfully pulled upwards behind his back. The man crouched down and put his knee on Mac’s neck, pushing him even further on the ground. Mac tried to struggle, but he wasn’t able to move an inch.

He felt his feet being gripped by the other man. He tried to kick out, but his moves weren’t coordinated enough to actually hit someone. So he couldn’t do much but shouting and wriggle as he felt his feet being tied with a new round of zip ties. Mac hissed in pain as the bit painfully into his already bloody skin. Before he could even react, his hands where tied behind his back with zip ties as well. But they weren’t done yet. A long rope was wrapped around his upper body, keeping his arms on his side. Mac screamed.

He was yanked up from the floor. Because of his bound feet he couldn’t find grounding and he wasn’t surprised as he was lifted completely as he wasn’t able to walk on his own. He wriggled in the mens’ grip, but they were much stronger than him, they didn’t let go.

As he fought he noticed a wooden table being placed in the middle of the room. Mac hadn’t even recognized it had been there from the beginning. With a harsh swing he was flung on the table. The impact was hard and drove all the air out of his lungs. Mac groaned in pain. Even the wood moaned, but it wasn’t doing him any favour of breaking beneath him.

The men shifted positions. The two guys that had lifted the table in position, grabbed his legs, the other two pushed him down on his shoulders. Mac’s wriggles started anew, but with four men holding him down, he was in no position of freeing himself. Instead he was pushed upwards. With that his head wasn’t connecting with he wooden table plate but was hanging freely over the edge. Mac pushed his head upwards, still struggling, but his efforts came to a halt as one of the men holding his shoulders gripped his neck and pushed downwards.

Mac cried out in pain as his head was bent backwards over the edge of the table. He closed his eyes, as he felt his neck snapping. He was breathing fast, sweat visible on his skin. His last struggle ebbed out, as the man’s grip got much more fierce and even reached up to his chin. And with his head being bent this much, he couldn’t even struggle. It just hurt too much.

_I am on my own. They don’t where I am._

_Why am I doing this?_

Mac felt panic rise inside him once again, as he opened his eyes. His head was bent so much everything was upside down. In combination with his previous experiences this day and his already existing dizziness he felt like vomiting. He breathed heavily through his mouth, still moaning and groaning. One last shake in his body, but fierce hands with strong grips pressed him painfully on the table.

  
“Are you done?”

Mac’s eyes landed on the boss. With arms crossed over the man eyed him, one foot tipping aggressively on the ground to underline his impatience. He was massively annoyed.

“What are you doing?!”, Mac breathed out heavily. He felt his body hyperventilating once again. His limbs began to tickle. But Mac was too afraid to close his eyes.

The man came over.

Mac swallowed.

The man crouched down in front of him.

Mac’s heart stopped.

_Why am I doing this?_

“One last chance”, the man said slowly. Mac’s breath sped up once more, the fear was definitely visible in his eyes – and he wasn’t even ashamed of it. He was truly terrified.

_I am on my own. They don’t where I am._

_They won’t come._

Mac didn’t even notice, that his time was ticking. He didn’t even waste a thought about answering or not. But still, in the end, his time was up. The man rose again, he sighed, “Okay then.”

Okay what?! Mac renewed his struggles but still didn’t have a chance against four man holding him down, zip ties and a rope around his upper body. So he could do nothing but watch as the man picked up a dirty kind of rag and water tube.

Mac’s eyes widened in panic. Waterboarding!

“No -!”

His survival skills kicked in fully once again. With power he didn’t know he had left in his body, he reared up and tried to dislodge the men holding him down. Mac started shouting once again, tried to kick out with his feet, but they were tied and pushed down hard at his knees so he couldn’t bent them. His wrists hurt as hell because the were crashed under his body weight but none or less Mac kept up with his fight. But he didn’t stand a chance.

The boss came over, water coming from the tube already. It spread on the dirty ground, leaving dripping sounds behind it. It was a sound Mac normally would ignore, but now it was the most terrible sound he ever heard.  
The man stretched the rag on his face and his whole world went dark. Mac’s body felt into panic. He had have training in waterboarding, but still, he couldn’t click out his survival instinct, and after this day he was just on the edge with everything.

His moaning was silenced with the first water coming down on the rag. Mac forced himself to breathe out so the water wouldn’t enter his lungs, but then a hit came down on his stomach. Mac wanted to double over but was restrained too much to do so. But he unconsciously hissed in some air to ease the pain – instead there was no air. Immediately he began to gag and cough.

The coughing grew deeper and deeper in a deperate attempt to draw in some air. But all he got was water. He tried to clear his lungs, but with every new cough new water came back in. He felt like he was sucking in the same water he just brought out of his lungs. Not long and tears started to leak down his face.

His chest reared up, being immediately pushed back down on the table. His hands were crawling all over the wooden plate as if they was searching for something to grab. Breathe! He needed to breathe!

Then the rag was pulled way.

Mac coughed hard as water poured from his nose and mouth. He tried to make space for the oxygen that he needed so desperately, but he still felt like drowning. Because coughing and heaving he couldn’t drew in any air, on every inhale there were like seven exhales. He felt his consciousness slipping as he helplessly gasped for breath. He was shivering.

“And?”

Mac starred at the man with glassy eyes. His face was wet, of water and his own tears. His blond hair was wet, drops of water dripping on the floor beneath him. Mac could still hear the water running.

“I don’t know anything”, he breathed out quietly. His voice was so hoarse. And he could hear the undenying rattle sound in his chest, audible with every breath he took – the sign of a coming pneumonia.

“I think you’re overestimating yourself”, the man said. Mac wasn’t sure if he was actually worried or not.

“I won’t tell you anything”, Mac breathed, his eyes closing, his head going limp. Instead he just focused on his breathing.

Not long and the rag was back. Again Mac tried to breathe out, but again he was hit in his stomach. Again the water entered his airways, again his struggle began.

The next time the rag was removed, Mac was barely conscious. He was sure this session took even longer than the last one. His head lolled around uncoordinated, he just couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore. He didn’t even cough anymore, the water leaked out from his nose and mouth just because of gravity.

Another hit in his side made him double over. That did the trick.

After he finally stopped coughing, Mac was sore. He hurt everywhere. His muscles were tense from all the heaving, his back was sore from the rubbing over the wooden table plate, his wrists had been crashed under his weight and shifting all along. Yes, he was done.

_Why am I doing this?_

Gentle claps to his cheek made him come back to reality. He moaned. “No –“, he wheezed, almost feeling himself slipping into darkness, “No –“

He heard the man snarl. “I think you need a rest. Then we try something different.”  
And then Mac was getting terribly aware of the way a simple sentence like “I think you need a rest” could be interpreted by two different people.

Instead of actually giving him a break, the man found another rag and stuffed it into Mac’s mouth. Mac was too exhausted to really fight him, but none or less he tried to dislodge the gag. But then the wet towel was back, shortly after the water was coming.

Again, the feeling of drowning. But now, Mac couldn’t cough the water back up as it was blocked by the gag. His only way out was through his nose, but the sensation of inhale and exhale water through his nose actually was like drowning.

With a body sore as his it didn’t take long for Mac to slip into darkness. His struggles ebbed out and with a last move his body went limp.

_Why am I doing this?_

_Why am I doing this for a man who left me alone?_

_What do I owe this man?_

***************************************************************************

The next time he came around he was sitting in his chair once again. Restraints were on again. New was the cloth tied around his head, acting as a gag.

His lungs rattled, definitely pneumonia. His chest felt heavy with every breath he took, it felt like waves of water moving in his lungs. His head lolled around, there was no strength left to lift it from his chest.

“Perfect timing, Angus!”

With last effort Mac opened his eyes. He only got them open half way. With glassy eyes and blurred view he tried to focus on his surroundings. Even though the room was dark, he was blended by the one and only bulb.

The man came in sight, still wearing his utterly expensive suit. His lackeys were busy with computers and electronics. And then Mac’s eyes locked with a camera. All color that had been left in his face and that wasn’t much from begin with, left his face, eyes growing wide. In an instant he was wide awake, new adrenaline pumping through his veins as he growled under his gag.

“We are going to ask your friends for help”, the man said cheerful, “How is the big one called, was it Jack?”

Mac’s breath sped up once again. This man knew everything about him. And this was the scariest part about this all.

“What about the shock?”, the man eyed him, “Are you not happy to tell them you’re still there?”

With his new power Mac shifted on his chair. But he was bound so well with the zip ties he couldn’t do much. Desperately he searched the room. They were going to contact Jack! They were going to contact his team! His rescue team! He could communicate with them, giving them information where he was right now. Morse code maybe with his eyes?

But Mac didn’t know where he was.

Desperation tried to wash him away at this sudden realisation. Exhaustion hit him full force.

But he couldn’t think much about it, as he noticed a sudden change in his surroundings. Better to be said in the people around them. The man was standing with large figure right in front of him, covering him from the camera.

”Showtime!”, he said theatrically as he pulled a clowns mask over his face. Then he stepped aside and Mac was fully on screen.


	14. Chapter 14

“So how are we supposed to find him?”

“Dalton!” Matty was definitely pissed now, “If you keep on asking the same questions all over again, you can pack up your stuff and drive home with your ugly muscle car! I don’t need you here!”

Jack’s reaction was priceless. “Did you just call my car ugly?!”

Riley knew Jack’s intention as she allowed herself to smile about this stupid conversation. They were all on the edge and he wanted to lift the spirit. And as stupid as it was, it actually worked.

But sadly he was right. How were they supposed to find Mac? His communication was off, the phone crashed and he disappeared without any clue. All they got was a victim, that was actually a lackey from begin with, and an underground maze going all over the city. They were sure by now that Mac and who knows who took the maze to leave, but they could only guess which route they have chosen.

_How are we supposed to find him?_

Everyone was sure by now that their mission went sideways. Mac was in extreme danger, they could all feel it. The only problem was, was he still safe and sound or - ?  
Riley shivered. She couldn’t bring herself to believe that Mac actually might be hurt or worse – fighting for his life.

Suddenly a screen popped up at her laptop. It was a mail, a video file attached to it.

“Guys, I got something”, she informed her team. With fast fingers she swiped the file on the large screen in the briefing room.

Matty eyed the file wearily, Jack’s face got grim. Even though they couldn’t be sure everyone thought of Mac in an instant. Bozer rubbed his hands together.

“It’s safe, I can’t find any virus or tracking software”, Riley said as she studied her laptop, “It’s just a video file.”

“Who sent it?”, Matty wanted to know. She knew Riley already checked that.

“I’m on it”, Riley answered immediately, “The signal is jumping over the whole city. I can’t track it.”

Matty cursed internally. “Open it”, she finally said.

_The moment the file started everyones’ heart stopped._

It was Mac.

He was tied to a metal chair, zip ties visible at his feet. His hands were secured behind him, so Jack was sure they were tied as well. In his mouth a gag, it looked like a black tie was tied around his head.

But all this was the least shocking.

Mac was wet all over. His shirt, his hair. The blond strands were sticking in his face, almost covering the only half lit blue eyes. Mac looked so exhausted.  
“They didn’t - !”, Jack started, but the rattled and shaky breath Mac took taught him better. They did waterboard him! They waterboarded his boy! Jack balled his fists in a desperate attempt to drive out some of his rage.

“Hello, Phoenix.”

Everyone’s look darkened. They knew who they were. Who Mac was.

“This is dangerous, Matty”, Jack sounded so light headed he was actually surprised about his own voice.

“As you can see, I have your agent”, the voice kept going. A man with a clown mask moved into the picture.

“You sick a**hole!! I’m gonna rip you apart!”, Jack growled. He knew it was no video chat so the man couldn’t hear him, but he needed to make it out clearly. For the man. For himself. For Mac.

The man circled Mac. The blond agent tried to focus on the movement around him, looking as strong and grim as he could. But Jack could see the panic in those baby blue eyes. And Jack felt helpless about it – utterly helpless.

“And you see, we have little problem here”, the clown continued, resting his hand on Mac’s shoulder. Jack could see the flinch in his partner, “He doesn’t want to answer a simple question. And this is getting really stressful here, doesn’t it Angus?” The clown leaned forward, so his head was in the same line with Mac’s. Mac’s breathing sped up.

At the same time Jack felt like he’s losing ground. This sick clown just called Mac by his given name! Was using it in a way he would actually know the kid. This was just sick! The helplessness of the situation was about to crash Jack’s chest.

“Maybe you could help us?”

The curiosity the man under the clown mask used in his voice was disgusting. This was no normal kidnapper, this was a professional. A man who did nothing other in his life than kidnapping innocent people, driving them on the edge and sucking out every bit of information possible, before he kills them in the most painful way. And Jack didn’t even have to see the eyes, the gate to his rotten soul, to understand all that. It was the way he talked, the way he stood there beside Mac, the way he had chosen this ugly mask. The way he was overpowering the situation. This man was sure of what he was doing. Was sure about every move. Was even sure about the fact using a video to contact them. Playing himself on big screen. The only thing that didn’t want to fit in the picture was the tied he used for Mac’s gag. Jack didn’t know why but it seemed so unclean, not stylish. Why not duct tape?

“Riley?”, Jack asked helplessly.

“I’m not getting a steady signal”, Riley sounded as desperate as he, “It’s jumping all over!”

“We are looking for someone”, the clown kept going, and Jack saw Matty going in alert mode. “But little son Angus here can’t help us, he doesn’t know where he is.”

Even though he didn’t say the name, everyone knew they were looking only for one person – Mac’s father. And it was true, Mac didn’t know anything. As did they. Jack was helping Mac best as he could to find his dad, so he was on the same knowledge as his partner. Bozer couldn’t help in their search, so he definitely knew less and Riley searched everywhere she could without finding anything.  
And the only person who could actually help them was standing right in front of them – Matty. She knew something about Mac’s dad, Mac told them she was in a reflection on the video tape Mac found. But there was a reason why she didn’t help them from the beginning. Would she tell them now? Would she broke her silence for Mac?

Jack starred at Matty who was turning her back to him, so he couldn’t make out her face.

“We need to talk with him about something very important, so it would be great if you could get him on the line for us. Wouldn’t it, Angus?”, the clown moved his hand and slapped Mac on the cheek lightly. Mac froze in terror.

“And the sooner the better”, the clown continued. And with this sentence the whole mood of the situation changed. Like somebody just knocked down a switch. The grim and ice cold voice gave Jack a shiver down his spine. “Because I don’t know how long Baby-Mac can keep up with us.”

Even though the face was not visible, Jack could actually see the sick smile on the clowns face. The cold eyes, lunging for his partner, inflicting him as much pain as possible. Getting his kick when Mac was struggling in his bondings. Jack felt like throwing up.

“Should we give them a little taste about how urgent this is for us, Angus?” Almost friendly he caressed the cheek, the blond hair of Mac. With one finger he actually brushed some of the wet strands away from Mac’s eyes. And Jack knew why: to show them the fear and terror behind those baby blue eyes. To make them feel more helpless. To overpower them all.

Mac’s breath sped up. His look wandered between the man with the clown mask to the camera and back again. In a desperate attempt to seek strength. But there was no one to give it to him. Just his imagination. Just a virtual picture of Jack sitting behind the camera and watching in despair.

And now Jack was watching. But he knew it was too late for his partner. In the moment he needed him the most he had not been there. Now it was just like a deflection of his own miserable fail, the biggest fail in his life.

The panic in his partner’s eyes was vivid as the clown left the picture, then roaming was audible. Frightened Mac locked eyes with the camera.

Jack’s heart died. There was only on thing written all over Mac’s face: “Jack, save me! Save me please!”  
Jack wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t stop looking in those pleading baby blue eyes. The rattled sounds of Mac’s lungs gave their best to make him feel more miserable.

“I cannot watch that”, Bozer said short bound and stormed out of the room. Jack couldn’t be angry at him and if he could he would have followed him. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t let Mac life through what ever was coming for him all by his own. And even though Jack knew this happened like minutes, maybe hours ago, he wanted to be strong for his partner – for his boy.

The roaming stopped all the sudden. “Wait, before we start we should make this more exciting, don’t you think Angus?”

The way the clown interacted with Mac at this point was so disgusting. So sick.

The clown came back in sight, walking strait up behind Mac. Jack got the feeling Mac was about to hyperventilate. And with what was about to happen Jack would have done so too.

With fast moves the clown tied a second cloth around Mac’s head – around his eyes. He blindfolded him.  
“Oh my god - ”, Riley sobbed and followed Bozer out of the briefing room.

Mac began to panic immediately. He couldn’t see anymore so he didn’t know what was about to happen to him. He could not process his surroundings anymore, at least adjust to the situation or threat that was about to come. Now, he was nothing more than a victim of his own imagination. And with what happened the last hours to him, Jack was sure Mac had a very livid imagination by now.

And now Jack understood why the clown didn’t go with duct tape as a gag: so they could see Mac’s jaw working nervously with the cloth.

This was so sick!

Mac’s nostrils flared, his body was on the edge, straight up, like it would explode every second. It was only because of his training that Mac could keep himself together up to now, but it was only a question of mere seconds till he would break down.

If Jack could he would just jump right trough the screen, beat this freaking clown to the ground, giving him the most pain possible and then hug his partner and never let go of him. Yes, he would definitely do so when he got his hands on this clown! And he would inflict the cruellest pain he could think of. Slowly and deep.

“Now we can start”, the clown concluded and Mac’s breath stopped. He tried to hear what was going on around him, but with only his ears he couldn’t process what Jack and Matty could see right now. The clown pulled a pair of garden scissors out of his suit. Jack recognized it as one everyone used to style their gardens and to cut plants. And Jack didn’t want to know what the clown was to cut on Mac.

The clown waved the scissors in the camera as if to make sure that they’ve seen it perfectly. Then he tapped it on Mac’s cheek.

The reaction was heart tearing to watch. Mac flinched at the sudden touch, almost jumped in his chair as he felt the cold of the metal at his cheek. The whimper that followed was ripping Jack’s heart out of his chest. Mac’s teeth burried themselves into the black tie in his mouth, the pressure visible at his jaw line.

“Maybe you need a little piece of your favourite agent.”

_What?!_

With that being said the clown pulled the scissors away from Mac and lunged for his hand. Because Mac was sitting frontal to the camera, Matty and Jack couldn’t see what was happening, but because of the lively action in front of them they could imagine it perfectly. Mac was shaking his head violently, clearly hyperventilating through his nose, whimpers made it past his gag. He struggled, tried to pull his arm away, but had no chance. Jack could firmly see the scissors finding their way around the boy’s finger. It was then that he heard himself screaming at the screen.

All of the sudden, the clown stopped to move. Mac was still shaking, gasping and whimpering behind the gag. The man stood up, the scissors in his hands. But Mac didn’t scream. He didn’t cut?!

Instead he lowered the scissors. With the other hand he caressed the boy’s cheek softly. “Sssshh”, he tried to calm Mac. But the boy was beyond helping now. He was in absolute panic. His breath was so shaky that Jack thought he would pass out every second.

He wished it for him.

With a swift hand move the blindfold was gone. Mac kept his eyes shut, breathing heavily through his nose. The caressing continued. “Are you scared?”, he asked the boy, whose chest was moving in an extreme way, drawing in any oxygen available, “This is how it works. Losing a finger is not the scary part, it’s even scarier before the cut.”

This sick bastard!

Mac didn’t listen anymore, he was just staring ahead in the camera. Jack felt like locking eyes with him. Jack felt like Mac was searching him, searching him for his strength, blocking out everything that happened around him. His body and mind where about to go into shock, Jack could see it, so Mac tried everything to pull himself away mentally. To bring himself ease. To bring himself happiness.

Jack was his happiness.

Jack felt like crying. He was overwhelmed with the situation just by watching it. He was nothing more than a bystander and he felt exhausted, what about Mac then?

The clown looked in the camera as well. As he looked back to Mac he seemed to process what was happening right now. “He can’t save you right now”, he said plain. Jack’s heart stopped, “In a few hours maybe when they give me the information I want, but not now.”

But Mac didn’t react. He kept his eyes locked on the camera, sucking in a virtual picture of Jack, standing there, looking strong.

“The next video will be a live call, 1900, no second later”, the clown informed them, “And we want information, or –“ with this he grabbed Mac by his hair and yanked his head back. The sudden pain and the interruption of his strong gaze made Mac hiss in pain. It was followed by whimper as the clown pressed the scissors at his throat. He drew blood with the sharp metal. Jack could see the heavy swallow. “I’m really cutting your cute agent here in pieces. Did I make myself clear?”

The screen went black.

As Matty turned around, Jack had left the room already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is - my personal favorite! For me this chapter is the best one I've written so far! I had so, so much fun writing this one - basically it wrote itself of its own^^  
> Please tell me what you think about it!!
> 
> And thank you all sooooo much for your feedback!! I'm soooo happy you're enjoying my story!!!


	15. Chapter 15

Jack found Riley and Bozer in Bozer’s lab.

Bozer was staring out of the window. He couldn’t see his face so he wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Riley instead sat at one of the tables. Jack could see her shoulders moving. She was crying, her hands at her lips shaking in an attempt to silence her sobs.

Jack moved to her. She saw him coming, stood up and fell into his open arms. This was the point where she was not ashamed of her crying. Deep sobs shook her.  
“It was so cruel, Jack”, she cried, “I could not – Mac – “

At the very last second Jack stopped himself from doing the typical “ssshh” to calm her. This sound was still dripping with the sickness of the clown calming a more than terrified Mac. So he didn’t say anything at all, just pulled her more into his hug. Riley sobbed hard into his shirt. “We’re gonna get him out of there”, Jack tried to reassure her, but it was more for himself than for her.

“And how are we supposed to do that, he?”

Jack looked up. So did Riley as she left the hug, but still, Jack let his arm rest around her. Bozer turned around. Desperation was written all over his phase.

“He’s looking for his dad for years now!”, Bozer actually started to shout, “And it’s only been weeks since he got the first clues! Clues, nobody investigated yet! How are we supposed to do something Mac didn’t accomplish in years?”

Jack looked at the clock. 1900 were the instructions, meaning 19:00. They a little less than two hours till the phone call. A call that put Mac’s safety on the line.

_What are we supposed to do?_

“We should talk to Matty.”

Riley released herself from Jack’s arm, looking at him in disbelief. “What?”

“Man, she knows something about Mac’s dad”, Jack stated, “And maybe she knows some crucial information about his dad.”

“Yeah, maybe”, Bozer said, “But just because she was on a video, that was filmed like what – 20 years ago, doesn’t mean she knows where he is right now. I mean Jack, it’s almost two decades! Everything could have happened! Maybe he’s dead by now!”

“That’s it!”, Riley shouted suddenly and sprinted out of the lab.

The boys just starred after her, then followed her quickly.

***************************************************************************

"We are faking his death?!”

Jack wasn’t sure what to think about this idea. And Bozer’s face definitely said the same. Even Matty wasn’t fully convinced yet, but Riley was burning for her idea.

“They want to talk to Mac’s dad”, Riley explained, “But what are they doing if they find out that he’s dead? That would make Mac useless to them.”

“Do I need to remind you, that being useless to someone mostly means that you’re killed by them”, Matty said with a fierce tone.

“Or they’ll drop him somewhere, leave him on his own, I don’t know.” For the first time Riley doubted her own idea, but there was nothing else to do, “Or do you have a better idea? How are we supposed to find Mac’s dad in less than two hours?”

“We can come up with some fake news and give ourselves more time”, Bozer threw in, but was immediately interrupted by Jack. “And these guys are doing what with Mac in the meantime, torture him to death?”

Silence.

Jack couldn’t blame Bozer, he had left the room already at the point the clown started to threat them with Mac’s life. He couldn’t know that. But Jack was definitely not going to tell them. They were on the edge already. “I think it’s our only chance. Every delay we try to get will get Mac in danger. With a definite answer we can get them to loose interest in Mac immediately.”

“And risking him even more”, Matty closed. For the first time in their career together Jack had the feeling that Matty was not sure of what to do. And this fact alone made Jack uneasy.

_Ask her._

_Ask her about his dad._

“Okay, do it”, Matty interrupted his thoughts. With a strong gaze she turned around, “Fake his death certificate. He died in a car crash three months ago, he was burnt to death.”

As Riley started tipping, she turned to the screen once again.  
Hopefully James Macgyver hadn’t interact with them in the last three months. Or this lie would actually kill Mac.

***************************************************************************

The man looked at his watch. Only a few minutes till their conversation. He was thrilled to see what was happening. On one hand he really needed the information about James Macgyver. His client needed them badly and he was a professional widely known for his great rate of success. On the other hand he somehow wished for them to fail in getting the information in time. He liked the boy, the way he reacted, the way he could drive him over the edge. The idea with the blindfold had been formidable. It made the whole video so much more intense. It would be a shame to have them succeed and robbing him of the opportunity to test out some funny things on the boy.

“Get the boy ready.”

The last hours weren’t gone to waste. He didn’t inflict any visible wounds to the blond boy, that was something he wanted to do when they were on screen. It would have been boring without the vivid reactions of his team. Especially about Jack he was interested. Instead he had a little fun with a little more water. The agent had been wet all over in the video, so it wasn’t that much of a change to see him wet once again.

Instead of the classic waterboarding they did earlier, he had changed the method. This time they had dunked the boy’s head over and over in an old wooden barrel. At first he had tried to get any more information, after a while it was just for fun. This was the first time he was having a session with an actual agent, so he was interested to see how this boy would hold up. And even as his body was shut down by now, he still refused to answer any questions. It was hard for him to admit it, but he was somehow impressed by the boy’s mental strength.

He eyed his lackeys as they reached for Macgyver. The boy was semi-conscious, lying in a puddle of water. They hauled him up by his bound arms.

“Wait!” The lackeys stopped in their movement. “Leave him there.” The picture of the agent, physically broken, in a puddle, gagged, barely awake would make an awesome opening scene.

***************************************************************************

**_Point 1900_ **

An invitation for a live-video-call popped up on the screen. Almost immediately Riley activated her program to track the call, the others stared on the screen. A feeling of fear was almost tangible, everyone was afraid of seeing Mac’s condition.

Matty accepted the call with her tablet.

The room from last time came in sight. Only this time the clown was sitting in the chair. No sight of Mac.

“Where’s Mac?”, Jack growled, aggression more than visible.

“Nice to meet you too, Jack”, the clown answered instead, “And about your friend, we are coming to him later.”

“I want to see him now”, Jack demanded. To see if he’s okay.

The clown sighed and shook his head. “Why skipping all the conversation.”

“We are not here to talk”, Matty said calmly, “I want to see my agent, then you get your information and then I want to have my agent free.”

“A lot of things you demand, director Webber”, the clown stated, “But I don’t think you’re in the position to do so. But I am.”

With this, the camera shifted to the side. A loud splash was audible as a thin figure was crashed head first into a barrel full of water. Everyone hold their breaths in shock. But the most shocking was the fact that the figure didn’t struggle that much. After a few seconds the movements ebbed out and the body was lifted.

Mac barely hung between the two men, both with clown masks, that had pushed him under water. He didn’t even cough up any water, just let gravity do its job. Not that he was would have been able to clear his lungs with the tie in his mouth.

Jack was growing more and more nervous as he watched the scene.

_Breathe Mac, breathe!_

Mac was kicked in the side. That actually made him cough a little. Another strong hit in the stomach, and Mac pressed out all the water, but with the gag in his mouth he wasn’t able to breath properly.

“You sick bastard!”, Jack shouted at the screen, “I’m gonna kill you!”

“Oh, Jack, watch your language”, the clown said with raised index finger as if he was scolding a little kid, “Or Angus is feeling the consequences.”

With balled fists Jack shut up. He didn’t want to cause Mac any more harm. Meanwhile the boy had been pushed on the ground, lying in a puddle of water. His hair stuck to his face, his eyes were halfway down, way too glassy and unfocused. Jack was afraid that Mac had a fever running because of the unthreatened pneumonia. His breathing was nothing more than a wheeze, coming in short gasps through his nose.

Jack wasn’t even sure Mac could process his situation right now. That Mac was actually aware Jack was with him right now.


	16. Chapter 16

“So you got the information I asked for?” Straight to business. Jack was more than happy about that. He didn’t want to let Mac stay with this bastard any second longer.

“Why are you looking for James Macgyver?”, Matty asked. She wanted to know her enemy first before giving him any information.

“You know you are in no position to ask for something, do you, director Webber?”, the clown responded. They couldn’t be sure if he was angry or just acting. “But I am in a good mood, the boy is quite entertaining.”

_Sick bastard!_

“Daddy-Macgyver has some very important information for us and we want to retrieve it as soon as possible. So I would be very pleased to hear you got him.”

“It was not easy, but we found something”, Matty answered, showing the paper in her hands.

The clown in the video whistled. “So you are quite found of your friend here. It was a good idea to get what I wanted.”

Of course we are found of him! Again, Jack had to fight the urge to shout at the man, to throw every curse he knew about. But on the same time he was too afraid of what would happen to Mac then. So he swallowed his pride and kept a firm look on the clown. But he couldn’t hold back the small little glances to Mac. His boy was barely conscious by now.

“I just feel sorry for you that this information is not what you want to hear”, Matty continued. She was right before playing her trump card – a trump card that must work out or Mac’s life was on the line.

“We found record of his death”, Matty said with a strong voice. Jack closed his eyes. Hopefully Mac was mentally far enough away to actually follow their conversation. The shock would be too much for his boy. Especially as Jack had no chance to tell Mac this was just a farce.

“He got in a traffic accident three months ago”, Matty concluded.

The date. This was the only weak spot in their plan. If this clown should have had contact with James Macgyver in the last weeks, Mac was dead. It was just now Jack realized he actually kept his breath.

To their surprise the clown didn’t react first. Because his face was hidden behind the mask, Jack couldn’t read his thoughts. Was this an outcome he had expected?

Suddenly the man stood up, turning to Mac.

_You dare touching him!_

Slowly the clown crouched down in front of Mac. The boy was having a hard time breathing through the wet gag, but his eyes were still open. A hand came down in his hair. The clown started to pet his head.

_You dare touching him!_

“Did you hear that, Angus?”, the clown chuckled as he continued to caress the blond strands, “They just said Daddy is dead.”

A short little struggle, some moans. “Sssshh”, the clown calmed Mac, “I know it must be hard. Losing the man that left you all alone.”

“Shut your f*cking mouth!”, Jack shouted. The clown looked up, but Jack only had eyes for Mac. It looked like life had left his body, lying there in a puddle. Heavy breathing, the rattled sound of a water filled lung. The glassy eyes, of fever or tears he wasn’t sure. But one thing he knew for sure: Mac was over the edge now. And the faster he could pull this boy in a hug and tell him everything’s all right, the better for everyone. For Mac, for the team – for himself. So now, his priority was to keep his boy safe from this psycho.

“Ah ah”, the clown made and shook his head, index finger up again, “What have I told you? Watch your language or Angus here is having the consequences. And I am the one charge here, not you Dalton!”

Black.

The screen was black.

_No!_

_What have I done!_

“Riley, get the call back!”, Jack heard Matty commanding. Fast tipping behind him, Bozer’s heavy breathing, Matty shouting orders. But Jack didn’t really notice any of this. He just stared on the screen. The black screen. His mind was blank.

_What have I done!_

“Riley, tell me you could track the call this time?!”, Matty shouted, a panic visible in her voice. But Jack couldn’t get his eyes away from the blackness in front of him.

_What have I done!_

_Mac is done. Mac is done. Mac is done._   
_My fault! My fault! My fault! My fault!_

_I killed Mac._

Jack felt like in a trance. He felt his body moving in slow motion, feeling numb. He couldn’t process any of his surroundings, couldn’t react. He wasn’t even sure if Matty had ordered him to do something because he couldn’t hear. All he could hear was his own heart beat, drowning down any other sounds. He felt his face losing all color, sweat forming on his forehead, his hands, his neck. He felt like having run for hours, his body hot and on fire, but it was just true panic.

“Dalton!”

“Dalton!”

“Jack!”

With shaky hands he turned to the voice. It was Matty, she looked concerned. “What are you still standing here, Dalton, we got him!” Jack felt like loosing all grounding. With shaky body he searched for the armchair behind him, almost stumbling as he let himself fall on it. His hands were shaking violently as the came to his face, burring it in them, fingers rubbing over his eyes. He felt his own sweat as he pushed out a wavy breathe, tears stung in his eyes.

This was when he finally saw the picture on the screen. It was a map of Los Angeles, many places marked. Jack remembered that Riley had a problem last time to pinpoint the exact location as the signal was jumping all over the city. Now there were like 50 different locations marked on the map, two different colours for the two times they were contacted by the man. The points were widely spread over the city – except for one. One point in two colours.

***************************************************************************

_Mac – Mac – Mac !_

Jack stormed through the dark basement hallways, gun raised. With the neon lights above him, swinging from left to right, it felt like being in horror movie. And the fear was vivid.

It was not a fear of the clown or his goons, standing behind a corner, opening fire on them. That was something Jack could deal with easily. He was a trained CIA, capable of shooting. His fear was more of a gripping one, an overwhelming one. A fear for Mac.

Since the call ended Jack had made himself accusations. He hadn’t been able to hold back that time, eventhough Mac’s life was on the line. And even though they had been fast at arriving in this location, even taking the helicopter to spare time, Jack was so terrified of the thought to find Mac dead in this room.

And it would be his fault. His boy would be dead by his stupid rage. By his hands.  
For an uncountable time Jack opened up a door. Again, the room behind it was empty. Slowly he began to lose hope to actually find Mac. His breathing sped up. The SWAT team around him would thought it was because of the rising walking speed, and heavily armoured with west and over all it would seem like a natural reaction. But it was not his new speed. It was the desperation of not finding Mac.

The next door. Again nothing.

Desperation.

Again nothing.

Jack began to growl as he opened the next door.

_Mac._

Jack was so surprised that he just stood in the door. Behind him the SWAT team rushed him, pushing him from left to right as he was standing in the middle of the door. But Jack wasn’t mad at them. He wasn’t feeling anything. He had only eyes for Mac.

Like through cotton Jack heard the SWAT team shouting orders, he even meant to hear the word “safe!”, but he wasn’t sure. He had only eyes for Mac.

As the SWAT team stormed out of the room to secure the area even more, Jack was again pushed from left to right. They even elbowed him a little, but it didn’t bother him. He had only eyes for Mac.

Mac was still lying on the ground, the puddle around him had dried a little. So had his shirt and hair. The gag was still in his mouth, hands and feet tied with nasty zip ties, cutting deep into his skin and drawing blood.

The boy was out limp.

“Oh no -!”

Jack dropped by his side, fingering for the neck, searching for the pulse. His fingers were shaking so much he couldn’t keep them steady to feel for the heart beat. He stopped breathing as he concentrated.

There!

A small, little, very weak pulse.

With a loud wheeze Jack breathed out. He pulled out a knife, cutting the zip ties. Carefully he ripped them from Mac’s skin without bringing any more harm. But Mac was out cold, he didn’t even whimper.  
Next was the gag. As Jack’s hand touched his cheeks, he could immediately feel the heat. Mac was running a high fever, Jack thought of pneumonia instantly. He moved down to hear Mac’s breathing. It was still rattled.

Jack pulled him up. Mac wasn’t exactly heavy, but in his limp state he weighed like tons. He pulled him in his arms, resting his head on his shoulder. Then Jack hugged him as hard as he could. He could feel Mac’s warm and shallow breath at his ear, could her the rattled sounds.

His hand found his way into Mac’s hair. It was still a little wet from - .

Jack pulled his boy in an even more fulfilling hug.

No, he wouldn’t let go of him.

Never again.


	17. Chapter 17

It took a week for Mac to regain consciousness.

Jack had been with him all the time.

In the beginning it was hard for him to see Mac like this: weak, vulnerable, stuck to tubes that kept him alive, did his breathing, gave him food. They had pumped out his lungs, it had been a lot of water. It was still a surprise to everyone that Mac kept on breathing with this much in his lungs. It should have been a torture.

Finally Mac was moving a little. First it was just a finger, than a hand. Jack noticed it immediately, calling for the docs and nurses. He was pushed away from the bed then, observing as they used a little flash light to shine into Mac’s blue eyes. They got the reaction they wanted as they started to unlock Mac from the breathing machine. Jack turned away when they pulled out the tube from his throat.

The doctors were happy to see that Mac breathed on his own. And only two hours later Mac came around.

“Hey, buddy.”

Jack tried to sound as soft as possible, pressing his hand, the other hand brushing gentle into his hair. After some never ending seconds Mac leaned into the touch.

“Jack?”

His voice was terrible.

Jack felt so sorry.

“Sssshh”, he made, “be quiet, just relax. Everything is good.”

Instead Mac tensed. Jack could see that under the closed lids Mac’s eyes started to move uncoordinated. Flashbacks. Bad flashbacks.

“Hey, calm down”, Jack tried to reassure him, but then felt terrible all of the sudden. He didn’t know what his partner went through in this day and he couldn’t even imagine, first posing as a killer that is actually his worst nightmare, then actually killing someone and in the end being kidnapped and tortured for information. No, he could barely imagine. And he could barely take any of this away from his boy.

“Dad –“, Mac whimpered.

“Your dad is fine, he’s fine!”, Jack tried to calm him, his voice doubling over. So this was the problem! Mac still thought his dad was dead.

“He said he is –“, Mac couldn’t speak anymore as his heart rate picked up. The machine next to him was beeping dramatically.

“Mac, he’s alive, he’s alive!”, Jack caressed his cheeks, “We faked his death to save you. It would have never been possible to come up with any useful information in such a short time. So we tried something crazy.”

But Mac didn’t calm down. The combination of fighting for his life with the realization that his dad was gone forever was just too much.

“Mac, you need to calm down”, Jack said, voice in a commanding tone, “I tell you, your dad didn’t die. We came up with it!” Now, Jack actually regretted their decision. How was he supposed to calm him now? This was driving Mac more over the edge than the whole day. Because Jack knew Mac had secretly dedicated his life for his father. And although Mac was always repellent about anything regarding his dad, in his subconscious he wished for nothing more than to find his dad. And Jack wanted nothing more than to help him doing so.

“Breathe with me, Mac, you are hyperventilating!” Jack didn’t want the docs to come over because of the beeping machines. They would only sedate him and that was not what Jack wanted for Mac.

After a while Mac seemingly calmed down.

“Yes, that’s my boy”, Jack said with a soft voice. He enjoyed the way Mac was leaning into the touch, searching for rest in his hand.

“You still have a high fever, so try to sleep. And when you wake up, we definitely gonna look for your dad, you copy?”

***************************************************************************

The man walked in.

An even bigger man waited for him, his hair short.

“He’s dead.”

The large man snarled. “You’re sure?”

The man nodded. On a photo he showed him the death certificate in director Webber’s hand.

“Then we have a problem.”

_Bang!_

The man was cold dead. “You left the boy behind”, Jonah Walsh said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is - thank you soo soo much for reading and commenting! It was great fun with you guys!! =D
> 
> As you see, I tried a little different this time, going with my own storyline. I hope you enjoyed reading it!   
> I tried to create a story that would fit in the flow of season 2. I decided it would fit best between the 15th and 16th episode (yes, I've watched all again to get to know when what information about Mac's dad is given to us, so it would stay true!). And this is the main reason why this story has this open ending kind of vibe. Still, this story is ended, Mac is safe and sound, but I decided to have a little connection to the main storyline of season 2, to have the mastermind and the "information" Mac's dad has finally brought to light in the season's final. So don't be mad at me, if you have this feeling of "why is the story not finished!?" - I wrote it as episode 2x15.5, so I hope you understand... and this story is still finished: the bad guy is dead and Mac is safe and sound^^
> 
> Again, thank you soo soo much and hopefully see you next time^^  
> Greetings from Germany <3


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